Ford’s Anthony Lo has decided to step down from his job as chief design officer after working for only three years. The 59-year-old made this decision by himself. The Detroit Free Press said Lo told his team about his decision through an email on Wednesday, May 8.
Even though Ford hasn’t officially spoken about Lo leaving, a spokesperson told the newspaper that they are looking for someone to take over Lo’s role. They also said that they have temporary plans in place to make sure work continues as usual. CarBuzz got a statement from Ford saying, “Anthony has chosen to leave Ford to explore new opportunities starting May 14. We want to thank Anthony for his leadership and hard work at Ford, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
At the moment, Lo hasn’t shared any details about what he plans to do next. Before coming to Ford in 2021, he worked as Renault’s vice president of exterior design. He helped change the direction of the French car brand by updating the looks of Renault and Dacia cars. He also created cool concept cars like the DeZir and Frendzy during his time there.
Before Renault, Lo worked at General Motors Europe, where he led design projects for Saab, Opel, and Vauxhall. He also worked at Mercedes-Benz, where he helped design the F200 concept and some early Maybach cars. Lo also spent time at Audi, where he worked on the design of the first-generation A4 and the Avus concept.
During his time at Ford, Lo played a big role in designing the new Mustang (S650 generation), which many people think is one of the best-looking muscle cars today. He had lots of creative ideas, like redesigning car interiors with new materials that could be easily replaced, similar to renovating a house. Lo believed that concept cars were important because they let carmakers test new designs and see how people react to them before putting them in production. He wanted Ford to make more concept cars, but with him leaving suddenly, that might not happen.
