Noted designer Wayne Burgess to work with Ola

The celebrated designer has worked on the Bentley Arnage in 1998, Aston Martin’s DB9 in the mid 2000s and Jaguar XF, F-Type, F-Pace SUV, XE among others

Ola Electric on Tuesday announced the appointment of Wayne Burgess as Head of Vehicle Design for its entire product range including scooters, bikes, cars and more.

Burgess is one of those celebrated designers who has international automotive design experience, having worked on some of the most legendary and iconic cars in automotive history including the Bentley Arnage in 1998, Aston Martin’s DB9 in the mid 2000s and more recently, the Jaguar XF, F-Type, F-Pace SUV, XE among others.

The electric mobility business will have its manufacturing base in Hosur (Tamil Nadu) and there are reports that Ola will set up a global design centre for an electric four-wheeler centre in Bengaluru. There are also plans to give customers charging infrastructure to customers for cars.

The Ola Futurefactory in Hosur will be the world’s largest two-wheeler factory when fully operational at 10 million-a-year capacity next year. The factory will start manufacturing the Ola Scooter as soon as its first phase of two million annual capacity is ready this summer.

Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, said: “Wayne is a fantastic addition to our leadership team and will bring global appeal and design aesthetic to our industry changing electric vehicles. As the world moves to EVs, the vehicle form factors will be fundamentally reimagined. Wayne’s expertise in designing some of the most legendary vehicles will also be helpful in bringing these new form factors to consumers. I look forward to collaborating with him to build the most iconic range of EVs in the world.”

Burgess has spent almost three decades designing vehicles for the majority of British premium automotive manufacturers, from Rolls Royce and Bentley in his early career, to Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover to, more recently, Lotus. Notably, he was the Chief Designer for the Jaguar F-Type sports car, and then Studio Director for the Jaguar F-Pace SUV.

Burgess said: “I am looking forward to my work at Ola Electric and to the opportunity to lead a team that will work on designing cutting-edge electric vehicles for the world. I am thrilled to be part of Ola as it accelerates on its path to become a leader in global EV solutions.”

The company said is gearing up to launch the first in its range of electric scooters in the coming months. Packed with advanced innovations, the much-anticipated Ola Scooter is a tech-driven electric vehicle with industry leading range and speed. It will offer customers best-in-class performance and experience. It added that the electric two-wheeler will be priced aggressively to make it accessible to all and will help accelerate India’s transition to sustainable, clean and electric mobility.