In China, a significant evolution is taking place in industrial design, carmakers included. Many industry leaders point to the growing trend of leveraging the China car market as a creative base, not only to more effectively target mainland buyers but to export China-led designs under non-Chinese brands.
Read the rest of the article at Jing Daily
Chery has had a branding disaster over the past few years, in 2009 they unveiled their new sub brands Riich and Reely. Riich was aimed at the upper end of the market and Reely was to focus on MPV’s and SUV’s, on paper it sounded like a fantastic idea – a third brand, Karry, was also introduced to sell low end high volume MPV’s and commercial vehicles. Out of the three only Karry seems to have registered any sales with Riich and Reely being docked from Chery’s tickets.
Auto Shanghai 2013 (the 15th show since it began in 1985), showcases the best new cars and concepts from both domestic and foreign automakers. China’s significance as the world’s fastest growing car market is evident in the decisions by some of the industry’s top brands to debut their newest models in Shanghai.
Audi, for example, have debuted their newest A3 and S3 models. Both are compact cars that offer near luxury driving experiences at a slightly more accessible price point than most of the Audi lineup. The sedan version of these cars will be produced in China.
Buick, now arguably GM’s most successful brand in China, debuted 3 new sedans in New York, but saved its stunningly beautiful Riviera plug-in hybrid concept car for Shanghai. This bold, forward-looking concept car was designed by both Buick’s Shanghai GM design team as well as GM’s Pan-Asia Technical Automotive Center. Buick says the Riviera concept is inspired by the Chinese saying “the greatest good is like water,” and that the body’s sculpted shape is designed to capture the “dynamic nature of water”.
Domestic automaker Chery showed off its ‘Beta’ 5 concept crossover SUV, which has styling to go head to head against the likes of the BMW X5 and Infiniti FX37. Whether it has the performance chops to also compete in driving dynamics remains to be seen.
Auto Shanghai 2013 runs from April 21 through 29, at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, in Pudong.
Chery QQ, the most popular mini car in China, gained a new appearance for 2013. The restyled model, which went on sale on March 1, keeps the 2340mm wheelbase, 51kW 1.0L engine as well as affordable prices from the original, while becoming noticeably wider and more attractive in look. The four versions released, with either a 5-speed MT or AMT (automated manual transmission), are priced between 37900 and 50900 Yuan (US$6,083-8,170).
In its latest bid to burnish an image more associated with its low-end QQ subcompact than luxury, state-owned Chinese automaker Chery has hired designer Hakan Saracoglu from Porsche AG to lead its Shanghai design center. The designer spent 15 years at Porsche, having a hand in designing the exteriors for the 918 Spyder, Boxster and Cayman, and becomes the latest high-profile hire by a Chinese automaker hoping to improve brand image amid tougher competition from international companies like Volkswagen AG and General Motors — both of which now see China as a critical market. This talent hunt by Chinese auto brands is attracting several experienced designers, with Bloomberg Businessweek noting this week that salaries for foreign auto engineers in China can be up to three times higher than in the US or Europe.
Despite poor reception from previous Chinese automotive brands exhibitions at what is arguably North America’s most influential auto show, the Detroit Auto Show, Chinese carmaker GAC showcases several concepts in Detroit. While Chinese branded car designs have vastly improved in recent years, they still struggle with international acceptance. It doesn’t help that, even at home, Chinese car brands are often overlooked in favor of more established industry leaders from the United States, Europe, Japan, and Korea. Automotive industry experts, J.D. Powers, predicts that China won’t be ready to go head to head with foreign automakers until at least 2020.
Read more at The Fiscal Times
Just a few months prior to unveiling its first saloon car developed for China and Europe, new automotive company, Qoros Auto Co. Ltd, shares insights into the design of its future generation of cars.
Gert Volker Hildebrand leads the design team in developing the brand’s unique and highly expressive style. The first production representative model, a compact saloon, will be unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show alongside two concept cars that give a glimpse into the future of a b family of Qoros models.
A recent article from Want China Times highlighted the immaturity of one Chinese car manufacturer, which may not be atypical of the Chinese auto industry – and perhaps other industries in China. BYD, which is one of China’s emerging domestic auto brands, is in financial trouble as a result of various poor business decisions. One of these decisions was to copy other carmakers’ products rather than create original designs.
From a designer’s perspective, it’s interesting that the topic of copying competitors is so casually discussed as a legitimate business strategy. There is no mention of the ethical concerns of the approach – only of the financial impacts. Regardless of ethics, however, BYD’s strategy of copying competitors’ products has resulted in a dramatic loss of marketshare. As the article states, “this approach undermined the company’s research-and-development abilities, subjecting it to great pressure each time other Chinese carmakers launched new models.” Some of BYD’s domestic competitors, meanwhile, have made investments in R&D centers and hiring experienced foreign designers.
Wang Jian from Jiangsu province, China, crafted his own Lamborghini Reventon from spare parts at the cost of around $10,000 – a mere 0.625% of the price of the real thing. It’s tempting to laugh this off and dismiss it altogether, but there is something wonderfully ambitious, albiet naive, in this young man’s effort to craft his own crude homage to one of the world’s greatest ever sports cars. What the rural Chinese may lack in knowledge, money, or finesse, they more than make up for in homespun ingenuity and determination! This work of art? would not have been out of place amongst the various rural inventions featured in Cai Guo-Qiang’s ‘Peasant Da Vincis’ exhibit in 2010, which was the inaugural show at the then newly opened RockBund Art Museum in Shanghai.
Chinese automakers are losing ground to their foreign competitors, despite three decades of partnerships with foreign automakers to exchange market access for technology. Domestic car buyers still perceive Chinese auto brands as inferior and less desirable to foreign brands. While domestic auto companies, such as BAIC and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, have hired top foreign designers to give their products a design boost, the strategy has not yet yielded improvements in brand perceptions and market share. For now, the core business for Chinese automakers is to continue manufacturing their foreign partners’ products.
“Originality is not just limited to mature auto manufacturers, two Chinese manufacturers in particular, Chery and BYD showed tremendous amounts of originality that was worthy of world auto manufacturers, these two companies seem to be singlehandedly giving consumers greater confidence in Chinese automotive products”
Read the article at China Car Times
“The designers find inspiration in traditional paper cutting, or in Tang (dynasty) paintings representing opulent women. Every model in the future has to have a good potential in China.”
Read the article at NY Daily News
With the history of over two decades, Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, known also as Auto China, has been successfully organized for eleven consecutive sessions. Auto China, organized every two years, has been globally recognized as the one of the most important auto shows in the world.
Thanks to the huge automobile consumer markets in China and rapid growth of Chinese auto industry, Beijing International Automotive Exhibition has improved gradually in terms of internationalization, quality of exhibits, and expanded its influence in the global auto industry. Thus, Auto China catches great attentions of the global auto industry, media and all social sectors. All of the well-known global auto companies have ranked Auto China as one of the most important A-class auto shows worldwide. Meanwhile, Auto China is the ideal platform for domestic auto companies to show their home-grown innovations and native brands.
In the past two decades, the organizing committee of Auto China has persisted in the concept of fine exhibits, completed line of brands, and internationalization, as well as devoted itself to build up a great platform to express corporate images of both Chinese and foreign auto companies, to promote brands, and to make better communication and exchange of information.
With the recovery of global auto industry, 2012 (the 12th) Beijing International Automotive Exhibition is fully confident to further help communication and cooperation of domestic and foreign auto industries, as well as to contribute to the revitalization and development of global auto industry.
Visit the official site to learn more
The 2012 Interior Motives China conference from Car Design News is happening at an absolutely pivotal time for the country’s design sector. How do designers understand their customers and apply their brand values to design? Indeed, how do they solidify and sustain those brands – be they new or established, local or foreign – in the minds of potential car buyers in such a crowded market?
Visit Interior Motives China for more info
“Q: Do you think cars designed in China will be accepted by overseas consumers?
Certainly, as long as the brand identity and brand promise is articulated correctly. For instance, designers here in China were responsible for the award-winning Buick LaCrosse interior design, which also retails in the U.S, as the same model. The local designers can understand the brand and its “visual DNA”, and therefore can continue to offer solutions that meet the brand promise to compliment the international Buick showroom.”
Read the interview from CarBodyDesign HERE
