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The fact is simple:
just poached designer Wayne Burgess from
. Burgess will oversee a team of 100 designers and staff, in charge of projects encompassing all of Geely’s brands, and report to Peter Horbury, Geely’s EVP of design. Burgess, who started at
in 1997, was lately the production studio director for Jaguar
‘s Special Vehicle Operations, and the head of Jaguar’s production cars. His credits include the
,
,
, and current
, as well as being an Ian Callum stand-in at events.
The implications of this personnel move carry the easy-to-ignore weight of another domino falling in what could be a monumental Chinese long game. Geely owns an eponymous car brand in China, as well the Chinese-Swedish
, Sweden’s
, England’s
and
Electric Vehicle Company (makers of electric black cabs), Malaysia’s
, and U.S. flying car startup
. Burgess won’t need to leave home, because Geely’s opening a design center in Coventry, England, to go along with its other centers in Barcelona, Gothenburg, Los Angeles and Shanghai.
If you’re keeping track, Burgess’ flight maintains the quickening pace of talent headed to Chinese automakers that we give scant attention. After Geely bought
in 2010, it moved longtime Volvo designer Peter Horbury, now Burgess’ boss, to Shanghai. At the time, the news evoked a chortle.
Compare that to last week, when
GAC Motor designer David Hilton said
, “There are now more
in Shanghai than in any other city in the world, including Detroit and L.A.” Hilton, by the way, was
Bentley’s head of exterior design
until September last year. The same month,
ex-Rolls Royce pen Giles Taylor
, who brought us the
, jetted to Munich to lead FAW’s Hongqi luxury brand. One month before that, ex-
designer Phil Simmons had taken over at Great Wall brand Haval. One month after that, ex-
and
designer
Kevin Rice became VP of design at Chery
. Ex-
man Wolfgang Egger took over at BYD in 2017. Oh yeah, Hilton’s comments came
in a Wall Street Journal article
about this very migration.
Mass distribution is nearing the developed world in the Northern Hemisphere, too.
Lynk & Co wants to get its papers
for Europe this year.
Zotye just named its first batch
of U.S.
in advance of a planned launch here in 2020.
Guangzhou Auto was at the same
U.S. dealer meetings at Zotye, aiming for a U.S. rollout in early 2020. And Kaiyun’s already been approved
to sell its little Pickman electric pickup
here —
but for $8,950 instead of the $5,000
previously reported.
Autoblog
published a post in 2004 — the year the site started — titled, “
” There have been a few more such posts since then. Looks like we’re finally close. Real close.
As for Burgess, Geely’s statement on the hire read, “The addition of Geely Design UK showcases Geely’s commitment to the UK and also shows Britain’s leading position in the areas of creativity and design. Wayne brings with him a wealth of experience in premium
which will help us develop our brands.”
Related Video:
from Autoblog http://bit.ly/2RFZ5U6