- FIAT Head of Design François Leboine has been awarded as 2025 ‘Design Hero’ in this year’s Autocar Awards.
- Leboine has been honored for his work in designing and developing the Grande Panda, which also won in the ‘Best Small Car’ category.
- Judges praised his expertise in creating a car that proved affordable models could still be ‘stunningly stylish’ and ‘shift perceptions’.
François Leboine, FIAT Head of Design, has been named the 2025 ‘Design Hero’ at this year’s Autocar Awards. French-born Leboine was awarded the prestigious accolade for his work on the innovative, stylish and affordable Grande Panda, which was also revealed as ‘Best Small Car’ during the same awards ceremony.
Mark Tisshaw, Editor of Autocar commented: “It’s vanishingly rare that a new car is so well received it actually shifts perceptions of the company that created it even before anyone has sat behind the wheel. That’s the sort of instant impact of which car designers dream, but precious few will ever achieve.
“In his current role as Fiat’s design chief, François Leboine has led the creation of the new Grande Panda, which combines knowing nods to the 1980s Panda with a fresh design infused with intricate details. It creates new possibilities for a firm, while proving affordable cars can still be stunningly stylish.”
Leboine commented: “I’m really proud to receive this award on behalf of myself and all my colleagues. We have created a team with a lot of energy and the courage to do things they’ve never done before. I had a clear idea of what I wanted, and they did it fast and with professionalism.
“With the Grande Panda, we have created an icon. The most important thing when I arrived here at FIAT was to bring something affordable, that is smart in the way we built it and which was even more accessible, which is difficult for an electric car but something we achieved with the Grande Panda.”
Passionate about beautiful design, Leboine is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, London. He joined the Italian brand four years ago and is based at the FIAT Centro Stile in Turin, Italy.
