Dacia design chief leaves after less than a year Car News

Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos stepped down as head of design at Dacia, less than a year after joining the company of sister brand Renault.

Mesonero-Romanos, who was responsible for the design of the Global Access branch of the Renault group before his promotion in July, Luca de Meo, Renault boss, will be temporarily replaced by the current head of Global Access design, David Durand.

Renault has yet to confirm who will be appointed to this post for the long term and has not given a reason for Mesonero-Romanos’ departure.

A spokesperson told Autocar they were unable to comment beyond confirming Durand’s appointment to an acting role.

Prior to joining Dacia, Mesonero-Romanos was tasked, under the leadership of Vice President of Design Laurens van den Acker, with designing affordable cars for developing countries as part of the Global Access project.

Previously, he was Design Director at Seat, where he oversaw the design of the successful Ateca, Arona and Tarraco SUVs, as well as the latest Ibiza and Leon sedans, winning the Eurostars Award in Design in 2018 for his work reviving the company lines.

Its latest unveiling was the Dacia Bigster concept. Described as “Dacia’s way of making the C-segment accessible”, the rugged machine – which will go into production in 2024 – embodies, in Mesonero-Romanos’ words, “the evolution of the Dacia brand”.

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