VW Design Bosses: Be Nice and Invest In Fabrics

This year’s news hasn’t been terribly optimistic for the Volkswagen Group. Their year-to-date stock price has fallen roughly 16 percent, while threats from Chinese EV brands and labor conflicts are making headlines. Plans are in place to mitigate their problems, and even their design team got into the spirit of things via an interview with Top Gear.

Christian Schreiber, head of VW design strategy, and Andy Mindt, head of design, discussed several items, but two stuck out: the inclusion of niceness in car design and the embracing of fabrics for nicer interiors.

I believe most people don’t want to be the coolest or appear aggressive in public. They want to have a suit and a good outside appearance while being happy and optimistic. What is the need to be aggressive? Our core is like this: be the nice guys.

Andy Mindt

Nice guys, eh? That almost suggests VW will both respect and reintroduce the good old days of their brand, when the advertisements were cheeky and the cars were downright cute.

That’s a great idea, as “cute” hasn’t been done by a non-Chinese automaker for a while. VW’s heritage ensures they could easily turn that corner, and attract a lot of new customers in the process. From a design perspective, the optimist in me wishes that Schreiber and Mindt are delicately suggesting that their latest efforts will include round or ovoid headlights.

While we covered the retro-themed details in the 2025 VW ID Buzz, its face lacks the requisite approachable and “happy and optimistic” demeanor of the VW products that made the brand a household name. That could be fixed in a mid-cycle refresh, if words from management turn into action.

Aside from the squinty headlights, the ID Buzz isn’t too far off from the original formula. First, slap on some headlights worthy of a 1998 New Beetle. Then ditch the played-out EV lighting signature between the headlights, and instead opt for a lighted emblem paired with a Porsche-style signature inside those new headlights.

Automotive fashion statements are indeed cyclical, so re-making a van that cute isn’t out of the question. Schreiber told Top Gear that, “We will connect directly with Volkswagen’s heritage.” But this quote is even more telling:

“We’re going to try and kick out cheap plastic materials and put the money instead into fabrics and improving quality, which helps save money and means we can use it elsewhere.”

Andy Mindt

More great news! VW has a storied relationship with Tartan (a type of plaid fabric) in their GTI model, and it could easily be transferred to any VW product. And not just the sporty or expensive models, because fabrics have the remarkable ability to add warmth and texture with only modest sacrifices in durability and expense. But don’t take my word for it, because it certainly worked for Chevrolet.

Aside from its distinctly un-American design heritage, I don’t recall anyone having a legitimate beef with the original 2009 Chevrolet Cruze. These mid-size cars were good enough for a Buick badge when new, and didn’t fall apart like many of yesteryear’s Cavaliers as they aged out. But the salient point is the fact that GM designers greenlighted extensive use of fabrics in the interior. And this stuff lasted, looking good for well over a decade even when abused.

VW designers would be wise to take a page from the Cruze. Fabrics can be fun, whimsical and maybe even a “nice guy” in a sea of angry eyed, plastic clad competitors. They absolutely deserve a future outside of spendy GTIs, as they are worthy of any vehicle that doesn’t need a standard leather interior.

While interviews with car designers generally pack a lot of fluff with little substance, there’s enough in this Top Gear interview to suggest that VW understands the problems their vehicles face in today’s competitive landscape. They have a plan to stand out from the crowd, and get people to fall in love with the brand again. Being the market dominator they once were in China might be impossible, but there’s hope for VW and the VW brand if they pull the thread on a piece of tartan fabric and see where it takes their designers.