Dr. Werner Tietz, new SEAT Vice-president for R&D

• The former head of Development at Bentley will take up his new position on July 1st
• Tietz, an industrial engineer, has worked in the R&D areas of Audi and Porsche and has almost 30 years of experience in the Volkswagen Group

Dr. Werner Tietz has been appointed new executive Vice-president for Research and Development at SEAT, as of July 1st. The executive, who joined the Volkswagen Group in 1994, was previously head of Development at Bentley. At SEAT, he will replace Axel Andorff, who will transfer to ŠKODA, assuming responsibility for Midsize and MEB Product Line.

Tietz is an engineer from RWTH Aachen University (Germany). Before joining the Volkswagen Group in 1994, he worked on research projects at his university related with plastic materials processing. He held several positions at Audi and was long time responsible for the development of all Audi interiors. In 2011 he transferred to Porsche, where he was responsible for the development of body and interior of all models. He participated as well in the development of the Taycan concept and worked on the introduction of innovative materials in several of the models. From 2018 he was a member of the Bentley executive committee and headed up Development, where he was creating new development strategy and laying the foundations for the electrification of the brand.

 SEAT President Carsten Isensee pointed out that “it’s great news for SEAT to have a manager like Tietz, who has a long track record in some of the Volkswagen Group's most technologically advanced brands. His experience will certainly contribute to further strengthening SEAT's commitment to technology and innovation, one of the company’s main assets.”

 The new director will lead SEAT’s innovation projects in a period characterised by the transition to electric mobility and technological advances that enable safer, more efficient driving. SEAT’s R&D Vice-presidency is responsible for the areas of Design, where all of the SEAT and CUPRA brand vehicles are conceptualised, as well as the SEAT Technical Centre, the knowledge hub where more than 1,000 engineers work to develop innovation for cars as well as future mobility solutions. SEAT is Spain’s leading industrial investor. In 2019, it allocated 1.259 billion euros to R&D investments and expenditures.