Dacia head of design leaves after less than a year
Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos will be temporarily replaced by Renault Group Global Access design chief David Durand
Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos has left his position as head of design at Dacia, less than a year after joining the company from sibling brand Renault.
Mesonero-Romanos, who served as design chief for Renault Group’s Global Access arm before Renault boss Luca de Meo promoted him in July, will be temporarily replaced by current Global Access design chief David Durand.
Renault has yet to confirm who will be appointed to the position 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 interim role.
Prior to joining Dacia, Mesonero-Romanos had charge, under design vice president Laurens van den Acker, of designing affordable cars for developing countries through the Global Access project.
Before that, he was design director at Seat, where he oversaw design of the hugely successful Ateca, Arona and Tarraco SUVs, as well as the latest Ibiza and Leon hatchbacks, winning the Eurostars Award in Design in 2018 for his work reviving the company’s lines.
His most recent unveiling was the Dacia Bigster concept. Described as “the Dacia way of making the C-segment accessible”, the rugged machine - which will enter production in 2024 - epitomises, in Mesonero-Romanos’ words, “the evolution of the Dacia brand”.
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