Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A.
2015
$135M
Why
Audi AG, acting on behalf of the Volkswagen Group, completed the acquisition of the remaining 90.1% stake in Italdesign Giugiaro for $147 million, having initially purchased a 49% minority stake in 2010. The acquisition was executed to internalize the Group’s external design and engineering consultancy capabilities, bringing the legendary styling house founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro fully under corporate control to streamline the development of future vehicle architectures and concept cars.
Impact
The integration of Italdesign allowed Audi and the broader Volkswagen Group to reduce reliance on third-party design firms and accelerate the prototyping phase of new vehicle programs. Italdesign’s specialized expertise in rapid clay modeling, digital surface development, and niche low-volume manufacturing was directly applied to the development of the Audi e-tron GT and the Lamborghini Huracán.
Outcome
Italdesign was restructured into a dual-entity organization, with one division focused on styling and design services for the Volkswagen Group’s 12 brands, and the other operating as an independent contract manufacturer for low-volume specialty vehicles. The acquisition successfully centralized the Group’s design language development, resulting in a 20% reduction in external design consultancy spend over the subsequent five years.