Luminaries at work
China’s new car design style has German roots
Visitors are greeted by an Audi advertisement on the baggage carousel at Beijing airport: the A8 "Horch" is being advertised. The luxury sedan with the highest specification only bears this historic name in China: two-tone paintwork, large radiator grille, powerful aluminum wheels, lots of chrome, a crowned "H" on the C-pillar - this is how German car managers imagine luxury cars for the Chinese. However, the mostly young customers in China are no longer interested in such bling-bling cars - or the similarly overloaded Mercedes-Maybach. They want a different design, fresher, simpler, not so overloaded.
Ironically, German designers in particular have shown the Chinese a new design language: stars of the industry such as Stefan Sielaff (formerly Bentley, now Geely), Klaus Zyciora (formerly VW, now Chongqing Changan) and Wolfgang Egger (formerly Alfa Romeo and Audi, now BYD Group). It is expected that the recently dismissed Audi designer Marc Lichte will also soon be working in China.
Wolfgang Egger has already been responsible for the design language of BYD, now the world's largest electric car manufacturer, for seven years as chief designer of the Chinese car manufacturer. He does not design cars for China, says Egger, but for the global market: "Beauty is global."
At the auto show in Beijing, you could see how design has changed in China. Many new models look as if they were designed by Charles Eames, Dieter Rams (Braun) or Jonathan Ive (Apple). While the front grilles of established manufacturers in Stuttgart, Munich and Ingolstadt are taking on frightening proportions, even though electric cars hardly need any cooling air, many Chinese car manufacturers are following form over function - true to the famous Bauhaus motto.
For BYD chief designer Wolfgang Egger, Bauhaus, the school of design from the 1920s, is one of his sources of inspiration: "Bauhaus brought function and design together. They reduced forms to a minimum and integrated technology into the design. That is an important point: the technological platform is the basis of design at BYD." Electric cars give designers new freedom. The compact electric motors enable a flatter hood, smaller radiators and therefore a closed front.
Clothing from the imperial era as inspiration
Another source of inspiration for Wolfgang Egger is Chinese history: "For Denza, we found our inspiration in the clothing worn by elegant Chinese women during the last period of the empire. The style was already extremely elegant more than 100 years ago. Even Coco Chanel was inspired by it. This is timeless beauty."
Denza is the BYD Group's premium brand. The decision as to whether and with which product the brand will come to Europe is to be made this year. The new, sleek style is also evident in the interior. Digital instruments and touchscreens make the dashboard look tidy. Western carmakers long thought that Chinese customers demanded baroque chrome trim, burl wood and beige leather in abundance - an English country house instead of Dessau Bauhaus. A mistake, as Wolfgang Egger sees it today: "It was only here in China that I learned that beauty is global. It's not true that the Chinese want to decorate everything with gold and silver. They love pure form. That's why we initially removed all decorative elements."
BMW is becoming simpler
BMW is also turning to a new design language with the New Class. In Munich, they have obviously recognized what customers really want, and not just in China. BMW chief designer Adrian van Hooydonk presented the latest development stage of the new series at the motor show in Beijing. It is due to go into series production next year. Large windows, light elements instead of chrome, a large screen instead of many displays and buttons. The latest development stage of the New Class has flared fenders at the front and looks sportier and more mature than the first model: "We will adopt 90 percent of this in series production," promises van Hoydoonk.
With the ID Code study in Beijing, Volkswagen is also showing a design language that follows the new China trend. While these models are still dreams of the future, Chinese manufacturers such as Nio, Xpeng, Zeekr, Great Wall Motor and BYD have long had their cars on the market - and the number is constantly increasing. BYD presented the Sealion 7 in Beijing. With its flat front and coupé rear, the car looks nothing like a fat sea lion. The BYD Ocean-M, a compact car with unusually dynamic shapes, looks even tidier.
Sea instead of road
"Our brands don't have a hundred-year history that we have to continue writing," says Wolfgang Egger. So his designers can start with a blank sheet of paper. The generic term at BYD is Ocean. The cars should look like they inhabit the oceans, not the roads.
BYD's design studio sits enthroned like a black cube next to the company headquarters in Shenzen. Most of the 1030 Group designers from over 30 nations work there. The company operates another design studio in California, and a studio in Europe is also planned. Possible location: Stuttgart.
There is plenty to do, as BYD also operates the Yangwang, Denza and Fangchiengbao brands in addition to the core brand, which compete as off-road, premium and luxury brands. Among other things, Denza is planning the Z9 GT, a breathtakingly flat sports car and a plug-in hybrid.
All Chinese car manufacturers are pursuing this strategy of competing with several brands. This not only keeps the marketing departments busy, but also the designers: "We take great care to ensure that the different BYD brands have their own design language, their own story," says Wolfgang Egger.
Engineers and designers work closely together. "This is important because the pace of development is much faster here," says the Chief Designer. "A car is developed here in less than three years." European manufacturers need four to five years. If they want to meet the tastes of Chinese customers, they have to become faster - and not just in terms of design. (cen)
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