Porsche car designer moves to China
September 26, 2013 Category Airlines and airports, Logistics
Pinky Lai, the first Chinese car designer to make a name internationally, is retiring soon from Porsche, where he has been a designer for 24 years and is currently General Manager of Design for global customers and special projects. He is expected to join a large Chinese car company as Chief Designer early next year. The 62-year-old Hongkonger has had a highly successful career in Europe, working as a designer for Ford and BMW before joining Porsche in 1989, where he was responsible for the exterior design of the Porsche 911’s 996 model – first produced in 1996. Lai also designed the exteriors for the Boxster and the Cayman. He is the first, by a margin of some 20 years, of three Hong Kong-born designers who have gone on to make an impact with Western carmakers. Anthony Lo is now Vice President of exterior design with Renault, while Chelsia Lau is Chief Designer at Ford’s strategic design concepts group in Shanghai. Lai’s intention is to stay at the Chinese car manufacturer for “two life cycles”, which in car industry parlance is about 10 years. During this time, Lai says, he wants to launch a range of cars that will look very different and distinctive. His ultimate goal is to develop a global Chinese car brand. “I have watched for many years as the Chinese car industry has thrown buckets of money out of the window. Although they have hired foreign engineers and designers, they still haven’t been able to develop their own successful brands,” he said. Several designers from Western car companies have already joined the Chinese car industry. James Hope was appointed Corporate Director of Design at Chery Automobile in March last year, and Turkish Designer Hakan Saracoglu, who spent 14 years with Porsche, was appointed Director of Chery’s Shanghai design facility.
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