When famed automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro founded Italdesign in 1968, no one would’ve expected it to become the famed design house it is now, having penned some of the world’s most iconic cars.
While Giugiaro parted ways with Italdesign in 2015, the company has continued on under the ownership of Audi and Lamborghini, though the Volkswagen Group brands have now given a majority stake of the design company to US-based firm UST.
Described as “a global transformation company specialising in AI-powered technology, design, and engineering”, UST has acquired a majority stake in Italdesign, though Lamborghini will “retain a significant stake”, while Audi will continue to be a “strategic partner” of Italdesign.
“The majority takeover of Italdesign by UST creates a strong partnership that combines UST’s expertise in automotive engineering, artificial intelligence, software-defined vehicle development, and digital ecosystem design with Italdesign’s deep knowledge in vehicle and product design, engineering, prototyping, small series production, and automotive electronics,” read a joint media release.
“Together, the companies will be able to offer a comprehensive and integrated range of services – from early concept and design to hardware and software development through to production systems. This combined capability is designed to support the development of fully modern, digitally enabled vehicles.”
The exact financial details of the deal are not yet known, and it is subject to regulatory approvals.
“Italdesign has shaped the way the world experiences mobility, and its legacy of design excellence is respected globally,” said UST CEO Krishna Sudheendra.
“We are grateful for the trust placed in us as we begin this next chapter together. Our role is to support Italdesign’s vision, honor its heritage, and bring new capabilities that help the team continue to grow.
“We look forward to working side by side with Italdesign and our partners across the Audi Group to help build what comes next.”
Recently Italdesign has hinted at launching a modern tribute to the classic Honda NSX, but was beaten to doing so by fellow Italian design brand Pininfarina.
Ironically, Pininfarina recently admitted to using AI “in the early phases of design” of the Vittori Turbio, a new hypercar from a US startup.
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