Benwadih Adil, exterior design director for Nio‘s mass-market Onvo sub-brand, has left to join Stellantis-backed Leapmotor as director of its newly established European Advanced Design Center, the designer announced on LinkedIn Wednesday.
“Excited to share that I’ve started a new position as Director of the European Advanced Design Center for Leapmotor,” Adil wrote. “Looking forward to building a strong team, pushing innovation forward, and shaping what’s next.”
The departure marks the loss of one of Nio‘s longest-serving design team members, who first joined the Shanghai-based EV maker in 2016 — two years before its first mass-produced model, the ES8, rolled off the production line.
Career at Nio
During his first stint at Nio, Adil worked as a senior designer responsible for the ‘Nio EVE’ concept vehicle unveiled at SXSW Austin in 2017.
The two-door hatchback with a futuristic exterior and interior design was presented as an autonomous electric vehicle that Nio planned to bring to US consumers by 2020, though the company never mass-produced it.
Adil was also responsible for the design of the ‘Nio ET’ preview shown at Shanghai Auto Show in 2019.
The ET series was a concept of what then became the foundation of the sedans Nio ET7 and ET5 — which were in 2021.
“The ET Preview represents Nio’s exploration of an all new car body, whose sleek new contours combine elegant proportions with power and beauty through a minimalistic design,” the EV maker stated back in 2019.
After three years at Opel, Adil returned to Nio in early 2023 to lead both exterior design teams for the Onvo sub-brand — the advanced design studio in Munich and the production team in Shanghai.
Adil worked under Raul Pires, the former Bentley designer who serves as design chief for Onvo.
Kris Tomasson is senior vice president of design for Nio Group and responsible for the main Nio brand and the Firefly sub-brand.
Onvo’s Design Legacy
The first Onvo model, the L60 compact SUV, was unveiled in May 2024 with deliveries beginning in September that year.
The second model, the L90 three-row SUV, was unveiled last July.
“Positioned as a Smart Large-Space Flagship SUV, the ONVO L90 was designed by former Bentley designer Raul Pires,” Nio said when launching the model.
The third model, the L80, will launch this year featuring a design similar to the L90 but in smaller proportions as a five-seat SUV.
Unlike the L60, which will remain vision-only, the L80 will be available in both pure-vision and LiDAR versions.
Leapmotor’s Growth Ambitions
Adil joins Leapmotor as the Hangzhou-based automaker pursues aggressive expansion plans.
The Stellantis-backed company aims to sell one million vehicles this year, according to founder and Chairman Zhu Jiangming.
The brand — which sells both pure electric and hybrid models — delivered 596,555 vehicles in 2025, up 103% year over year and surpassing its annual target of 500,000 units.
In Europe, Stellantis handles distribution through the Leapmotor International joint venture.
Onvo’s Challenges
After a strong initial ramp-up, order cancellations in the final weeks of 2024 impacted delivery figures for early 2025.
Despite setting ambitious sales targets in November 2024, brand chief Alan Ai was let go and replaced by Fei Shen, one of Nio’s earliest employees and former head of Nio Power unit.
Deliveries of the L90 peaked at 11,722 units in October 2025 but were nearly halved in November before dropping another 30% in December.
To boost demand, the L60 was refreshed in September 2025 with deliveries of the updated version beginning in late October.
Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsiao said earlier this week that Nio plans to expand Onvo with two to three new models in the 150,000-200,000 yuan ($21,600-$28,800) segment, targeting 8-10% market share.
Nio Group — which includes Nio, Onvo, and Firefly — aims to increase sales by 40% to 50% in 2026 implying about 456,000 to 489,000 units.
However, the company has not set a specific target for the Onvo sub-brand.
