Volvo rehires former Tesla manager as head of R&D
Anders Bell will lead Volvo Cars’ research and development from 16 December 2022. Bell has almost 25 years of experience in the automotive industry: in addition to his many years at Volvo Cars, he most recently worked for Tesla for six years.
As head of research and development at Volvo Cars, Bell will take the lead on key future areas such as core computing, electrification, connectivity and autonomous driving, according to Volvo. Bell will not be a board member, however, but will report as a member of the Group Management Team (GMT) to Javier Varela, chief operating officer (COO) and deputy CEO of the company.
Bell will be responsible for “reducing the cost and complexity of Volvo’s products and services, maintaining a lifecycle perspective and focusing on continuous development and customer value”, according to the statement.
During his first phase at Volvo, Bell has worked on the development of the first generation XC90, the start of production of the Volvo XC60 in China and the launch of the interior for the Volvo 90 family, among other projects. At Tesla, bell served as Head of Vehicle Engineering for the EMEA region.
“Bringing Anders back home to Volvo Cars will help our company strengthen our existing capabilities, speed up and enhance our deliveries,” says COO Varela. “I look forward to working closely with Anders and the full team as we continue our journey to full electrification.”
“I’m really looking forward to picking up my relationships with Volvo Cars and the people within it,” adds Anders Bell. “Hopefully I’ll be able to bring and convert all of that into energy and opportunities to help Volvo in the continuous journey to electrification. I wouldn’t have joined without that commitment that the leadership team, and the company has done to go electric. It’s absolutely the right thing to do.”
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