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Tesla hires Volvo’s chief interior designer to improve cabins

Tesla has hired Volvo's head of interior design to help give its upcoming cars more inviting cabins.


As initially reported by Elektrek, Tesla has hired Anders Bell to the position of senior director for engineering. Prior to this, Bell spent over two years at Volvo with a similar title.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Bell was the "head of interior engineering department", and headed up a team that consisted of around 400 engineers spread across Sweden and Shanghai, China.

Bell notes that his key accomplishments include the interiors for the XC90, S90 and V90, and that his areas of responsibility included "functional areas such as instrument panel, centre console, all interior surface materials, air bags, seat belts, cargo restraints, front and rear seat systems, door panels, overhead system, luggage trim, interior light, interior soft and hard trim".

Anders Bell started at Volvo in 1998, and has worked in various engineering capacities throughout his 18 year career at the Swedish automaker.

As we've noted in our reviews of the current XC90, S90 and V90, their interiors are pretty special.

In his reviews of the S90 Inscription and XC90 range, James Ward praised the new cars' cabin as one that's been "plucked from an industrial design textbook" and full of "amazing materials and luxurious feel".

Meanwhile in Tegan Lawson's review of the XC90 D5 Inscription, she notes that the SUV's interior has "beautifully appointed with lashings of leather and metal – it’s a nicely balanced mix of modern technology and classic style."

Matt Campbell also lauded the XC90 T6 Inscription for its "premium interior finish with proper luxury materials".

Although Tesla has earned praise for its large 17-inch tablet-style touchscreen infotainment system in the Model S, CarAdvice has also noted a number of failings.

Paul Maric in his P90D long-term review picked out "strange items like the Mercedes-Benz sourced window controls, indicator and cruise control stalk", while in his Model S 70 review he also noted an interior rattle, and the lack of storage places for odds and ends.

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