Volvo Cars’ senior vice-president of Design, Thomas Ingenlath, has won the ‘Design Hero’ award at the 2017 Autocar UK Awards.

Ingenlath has been at Volvo since 2012 and has led a team of designers that have revolutionised Volvo design – and in turn helped make Volvos among the most desirable premium cars on sale today.

Ingenlath has helped turn a fairly mainstream brand into a fully fledged luxury one. He has led the creation of a new, full-sized XC90, a family-sized XC60 and the new V90. But it’s the compact XC40, due later this year, that moves Volvo into a new market slot and into new territory.

Mark Tisshaw, Autocar UK editor, said: “Great design is what brings the car industry to a wider audience, and Thomas has turned a mainstream product into a fully-fledged luxury brand.

“His five years in charge of design for Volvo has coincided with a reinvention of the company itself. Volvo’s products are now among the most desirable, distinctive and best looking on the market, and are true rivals to the established German luxury car makers.”

Commenting on the award, Thomas Ingenlath said: “It is a great honour to receive this award from such an influential motoring title as Autocar. Volvo’s new design language is Scandinavian design at its best: form with function, and genuine beauty. That the hard work of everyone involved in designing Volvos has been recognised in such a way is a fantastic achievement.”

Also read: Volvo Cars to begin local assembly in India this year