Haval has announced the appointment of Phil Simmons (not to be confused with the former West Indian cricketer of the same name) to the position of design director and vice-president, luring the British designer from Land Rover.
In his new role with the Chinese automaker, Simmons will lead Haval’s design studio in Baoding as well as the “advanced design studio” in Shanghai, where he has been tasked with building a “world-class design team” and creating a new design for all Haval models.
Simmons has worked in the automotive design field for more than 29 years, having last served as the exterior design studio director for Land Rover, where he was responsible for models such as the 2018 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, 2017 Range Rover Velar and 2016 Range Rover Evoque, Discovery and Discovery Sport.
In addition, he led the design team that developed the interior and exterior of earlier models from the British brand, such as the 2014 Range Rover Sport and 2013 Range Rover.
From 1999 to 2007, the designer worked in various divisions of Ford, where he was responsible for the styling of vehicles such as the 2009 Ford Fiesta, 2005 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ.
