Olivier Boulay (born August 9, 1957, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) is an automobile designer. Since 2009, he has been the Vice President of Daimler's Advanced Design Centre in Beijing, China."Daimler considering an Advanced Design Center in Beijing"
''Automotive World'', April 06, 2009 He was educated at ''École supérieure d'art graphique et d'architecture intérieure'' in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

until June 1981, and graduated from the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

a year later. He then spent five years as an automotive designer in

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

before becoming the Manager of

Daimler-Benz AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactur ...

's Design Division in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

in 1987. He was responsible for the S-Class and C-Class exteriors while there, before moving to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

in 1989. Boulay penned the second generation

Subaru Legacy The is a mid-size car built by Japanese automobile manufacturer Subaru since 1989. The maker's flagship car, it is unique in its class for offering all-wheel drive as a standard feature, and Subaru's traditional boxer engine. The Legacy was sol ...

while working for

Fuji Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was formerly named ( ...

, before returning to Daimler Benz in 1992 when they established their Advanced Design Center of Japan. As general manager, Boulay was behind the 97 Maybach concept exhibited at the

Tokyo Motor Show The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show ...

, before returning to Europe as General Manager of

DaimlerChrysler The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...

's Advanced Design Germany studio to usher the

Maybach 57 and 62 The Maybach 57 (chassis no. W240) and 62 (chassis no. V240) were the first automobile models of the Maybach brand since the brand's revival by DaimlerChrysler AG (now Mercedes-Benz Group AG). They are derived from the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept ...

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...

s into production. Following DaimlerChrysler's assumption of control of

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan."MMC recruits Olivier Boulay from DaimlerChrysler"
, Mitsubishi Motors press release, April 25, 2001 The continual financial struggle of Mitsubishi Motors hastened DaimlerChrysler's exit from being the company's biggest stockholder. It meant that only one all-new vehicle, the

Mitsubishi Magna The Mitsubishi Magna is a mid-size car that was produced over three generations between 1985 and 2005 by Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL). Developed as a replacement for the Mitsubishi Sigma, each Magna generation derived from Japanes ...

, was developed and released during his tenure. However, he was able to exert his stylistic influence on several other vehicles in development, thanks to a heavy schedule of four concept vehicles created in five months prior to the 2001

.""New" Mitsubishi Motors Introduces Exciting Car Concepts At 35th Tokyo Motor Show"
, Mitsubishi Motors press release, October 17, 2001 These concepts, the CZ2, CZ3 Tarmac, Space Liner and SUP, all shared a common face created by the curvature of the lower edge of the grille, the size and shape of the badge and the sharp crease rising up the leading edge of the bonnet."Mitsubishi Gets a Makeover"
Chester Dawson, ''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'', November 5, 2001 Boulay saw this family likeness as important in establishing a strong image for the company."Mitsubishi designer's vision unveiled"
MMNA press release, PR Newswire, January 9, 2002 This would later be seen in his facelift of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n market

in 2003, its successful replacement the

Mitsubishi 380 The Mitsubishi 380 is a mid-size car that was produced between 2005 and 2008 by Mitsubishi Motors Australia. Available only as a sedan, it marked the end of Australian production by the Japanese manufacturer. The 380, given the model designatio ...

, and the Japanese Mitsubishi i ''

kei car Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capaci ...

'', the latter two of which would only be released after Boulay had left the company. When DaimlerChrysler terminated its alliance with Mitsubishi in 2004, Boulay, returned to its Advanced Design Studio in Japan and his previous position. He became a professor at

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowment ...

in Tokyo in 2009, and was named Vice President of the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center of China, which opened new premises in Beijing in July 2011 where he is responsible for electric car design development for the joint venture with BYD.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulay, Olivier 1957 births French automobile designers Living people