Jean-Pierre Ploué
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Jean-Pierre Ploué is a French car designer, known for his work for
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
,
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
,
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
and notably
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
, where he is attributed with reinvigorating the brand's reputation for innovative styling. He is currently Chief Designer with
Stellantis Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automaker formed in 2021 through the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group, PSA (Peugeot S.A.) Group. The company's hea ...
— which includes the Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS, Fiat Europe, Lancia, Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall brands. During his tenure with Renault, one of Ploué's initial sketches was chosen for development by
Patrick le Quément Patrick Gilles Marie Le Quément (born 4 February 1945) is a retired French car designer, formerly chief designer of Renault. Born in France but brought up in the United Kingdom, Le Quément holds a BA Hons. degree in Product Design from Bir ...
as the 1994
Renault Argos The Renault Argos was an open-top two-seater concept car created by Renault and was first shown at the 1994 Paris Motor Show. It was designed by Jean-Pierre Ploué under the direction of Patrick Le Quément and was displayed purely as a design s ...
. The concept was noticed by
Freeman Thomas Freeman Thomas (born August 20, 1957) is an American automobile and industrial designer who has worked for Porsche, Volkswagen Group, DaimlerChrysler and Ford. Background Thomas, the son of an American military air traffic controller and a German ...
at the 1994
Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show was an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show was hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon was organised b ...
, and Thomas later cited the Argos as the inspiration for his initial
Audi TT The Audi TT is a production front-engine, 2-door, 2+2 sports coupé and roadster, manufactured and marketed by Audi from 1998 to 2023 across three generations. For each of its three generations, the TT has been based on consecutive generations ...
sketches. In 2008, a panel of 40 automotive journalists with ''Journal de l’Automobile'', France's largest automotive magazine, named Ploué ''Man of the Year'' (''Homme de l'Année'').


Background

Ploué was born 8 september, 1962 in
Migennes Migennes () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. Laroche-Migennes station has rail connections to Dijon, Paris, Auxerre, Corbigny and Avallon. Population Town partnership * Simmern, Rhin ...
, France — the son of Charles Ploué, a sales rep, and Michelle Grulet Ploué, a nursery school director. As a child, he was known to carry small toy cars in his pockets. He later developed an interest in cabinetmaking and design. Ploué attended the Jules Haag high school in
Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...
and graduated in 1985 from ENSAAMA, the French National School of Applied Arts and Crafts — at the top of his graduating class. Despite the school's lack of an automotive curriculum, he and his closest classmates made full scale car drawings — only to have them painted over by their professors. Ploué married Sophie Rouxel on January 21, 1995 and they have four children. His interests include gastronomy, oenology, painting, architecture, sculpture, watchmaking, and he admires designers
Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. His most popular pieces ...
, Giovanni Bertone and
Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...
. He has pursued skiing, adventure and motor sports, golf, and mountain biking.


Career

Ploué started his career at
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
from 1985–1995, where he designed the Laguna concept car, the W06 concept that grew into the Twingo, and worked on the design of the Renault Clio II and Megane I. From 1995 to 1998 he worked at the
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
Design Centre in Wolfsburg, Germany. From 1998 to 1999 Ploué was Head of Exterior Design at
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
in Cologne, Germany. In 1999 Ploué replaced Arthur Blakeslee as Head of the
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
Design Centre, responsible for rejuvenating the brand's image. His arrival marked a new era for Citroën, resulting in the launch of successful and stylish new models such as the C4, the second generation C5, the C6, and the DS3, which played a strong role in the rebranding of the marque. Concept-cars C-Sport Lounge, C-Métisse,
Citroën Metropolis The Citroën Metropolis is a concept car, designed in China by Citroën and presented on the French pavilion of the Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The concept was unveiled in May 2010, though the first pictures were revealed a month earlier. The Citroën ...
and
GT by Citroën The GT by Citroën (sometimes spelled GTbyCitroën) is a sports car that debuted as a concept car on October 2 at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. The car is a collaboration between the French automaker Citroën and the Japanese racing simulation deve ...
designed by his team show their desire to resume their position as a leader in car design. In 2009, he was promoted to Director of Design for the PSA group, in charge of designers
Gilles Vidal Gilles Vidal (born ca. 1972) is a French car designer, appointed Director of Style by Peugeot in early-2010. He was responsible for the design direction of the 2010s decade at Peugeot. He is currently the design director at Renault, having joine ...
from Peugeot and Thierry Métroz from Citroën since early 2010. Following the
Stellantis Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automaker formed in 2021 through the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group, PSA (Peugeot S.A.) Group. The company's hea ...
merger in 2021, he was appointed the group's chief designer for the European region, including for the
Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...
and
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...
brands as part of their revitalisation strategies.


Awards

Ploué received a Design Award for best production car for the
Renault Twingo The Renault Twingo is a city car made by the French company Renault from 1992 to 2024 across three generations. The name is a portmanteau of ''twist'', ''swing'', and ''tango''. The first-generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at t ...
(1992), Design Award for best concept car for the
Renault Argos The Renault Argos was an open-top two-seater concept car created by Renault and was first shown at the 1994 Paris Motor Show. It was designed by Jean-Pierre Ploué under the direction of Patrick Le Quément and was displayed purely as a design s ...
(1993), Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award for the Citroën C-Métisse (2006), Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award for the GTbyCitroën.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ploue, Jean-Pierre Citroën 1962 births Living people French automobile designers