Volkswagen Group wants to divest itself of Italdesign

Italdesign Giugiaro SpA is one of the most respected design studios in the world and many of the vehicles it has designed are among the most beautiful and sought-after on the market. Its designers have created supercars such as the Lamborghini Gallardo, Bugatti EB110, Maserati MC12, BMW M1 and Nissan GT-R 50, as well as countless less powerful but more affordable vehicles, such as the first VW Golf, Alfa Romeo 159, Fiat Uno, Lancia Delta and Seat Ibiza. In 2010, Lamborghini, on behalf of the VW Group, acquired 90.1% of Italdesign, but is now trying to offload it.

The German conglomerate is moving to sell its design studio, according to Automotive News. The sale is likely part of the German giant's downsizing efforts , which have also announced plans to reduce its workforce by 35,000 by 2030.

According to union representatives, a meeting between representatives of the German group and employees of the design office will take place on 12 May. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera also reports that Audi — which within the VW Group directly controls Lamborghini and, by extension, Italdesign — “is not only interested in selling, but also has someone in its sights”. Hence, another meeting has also been scheduled for 19 May, which will also be attended by a representative of the Turin Industrial Union.

Turin was once the world's design hub for many industries, not just the automotive industry, but recent history has not been kind to this type of transalpine company , as evidenced by the fact that the famous Bertone closed its doors in 2014, before returning in 2022 under new owners, and the same happened with the legendary Pininfarina, which was sold to the Indian Mahindra. It remains to be seen whether the new owner of Italdesign will be Indian or Chinese...