Mazda North American Operations Announces New Design Director

Franz von Holzhausen Assumes Director Post

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 16 -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today announced the appointment of Franz von Holzhausen to the position of Design Director, effective February 21. In his new position, von Holzhausen will be responsible for overseeing the design and development of all vehicles for Mazda North American Operations. He will be based at Mazda's North American design and research & development center in Irvine, Calif.

Von Holzhausen joins Mazda from General Motors where he held the position of Design Manager, responsible for managing the design process for multiple programs including the Pontiac Solstice concept and production vehicles, as well as Saturn derivatives. Prior to his time at GM, von Holzhausen served as Assistant Chief Designer for Volkswagen.

"The appointment of von Holzhausen underlines the importance that Mazda is placing on designing, engineering and building vehicles of the highest quality specifically for the North American market," said Robert Davis, Senior Vice President, Product Development and Quality, Mazda North American Operations. "Franz brings years of innovative design expertise to our team and we anticipate great things from him, the entire Mazda North American design team and from all future Mazda vehicles."

Von Holzhausen completed his studies at Syracuse University in the field of Industrial Design and is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Transportation Design.

Mazda North American Operations is responsible for the sales and marketing, customer parts and services support of Mazda vehicles in the United States. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., MNAO has more than 700 dealerships nationwide. The company's design and research & development facilities are located at a separate facility in Irvine, employing nearly 100 people dedicated to the design and development of vehicles specifically for the North American market.