AEHRA is a new brand in carmaking, but it has gained decades of experience through the appointment of Franco Cimatti as its chief engineering officer, effective 1st March 2023. Cimatti, 64, joins the company from Lotus, where as senior chief engineer he was responsible for the development of a next-generation EV architecture for lifestyle vehicles, including SUVs.
Prior to that role, Cimatti spent 32 years with Ferrari, where he oversaw all road testing development and production release for more than four years, before becoming vehicle concepts and predevelopment director in 1994.
Cimatti then spent the next 24 years overseeing the strategic planning, concept creation, feasibility analysis and preliminary engineering design of all future Ferrari models. From 2007, he was also intensely involved with Ferrari’s electrification programme, an area he continued to work in following his promotion to the role of Ferrari’s advanced research director for vehicle concepts, and again later at Lotus. Over the course of all those years, Cimatti was named in some 116 automotive engineering patents.
Cimatti will be working on the technical development of AEHRA models including its first all-electric model, an SUV, and a sedan, due to be revealed in April. The Italian-based EV company expects to deliver its first models to customers in 2025.
Commenting on Cimatti’s appointment,,AEHRA co-founder and CEO Hazim Nada said: “Franco is famed throughout the automotive industry for his visionary approach to engineering. His knowledge of the global automotive sector and supply partners, coupled with his expertise in electric mobility, will prove invaluable for the expansion of AEHRA’s asset-light manufacturing ecosystem. Franco’s ability to seamlessly merge the implementation of a cohesive overarching product development strategy with hands-on, granular attention to every single detail is legendary. Equally so is the roster of groundbreaking Ferrari models, and the technological firsts they featured, brought to fruition under his watch.
“During his career to date, Franco has delivered an incredible 116 engineering patents. The creation of IP is an essential asset for any startup. With Franco, we look forward to building further on the patents AEHRA has already filed through the delivery of the transformative design and technological features of our vehicles.”
