Ride-hailing firm Ola appoint new Head of Vehicle Design for cars bikes & scooters

Image credit: Ola

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

Wayne is said to bring a wealth of 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 as well as many others.

Commenting on the appointment, 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.”

Wayne 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 Landrover to, more recently, Lotus. Notably, Wayne was the Chief Designer for the Jaguar F-Type sports car, and then Studio Director for the Jaguar F-Pace SUV.

Expressing his keen interest to take charge of vehicle design at Ola Electric, Wayne 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.”

Ola is gearing up to launch the first in its range of electric scooters in the coming months. The Ola Scooter is a tech-driven electric vehicle with “industry leading“ range and speed. The company has said its electric two-wheeler will be priced aggressively to make it accessible to all.

The Ola Scooter has already won several prestigious awards including the IHS Markit Innovation award at CES and the German Design Award.