Changan designer on CMF and the versatility of vegan leather

We recently got behind the wheel of Changan’s latest offering for Europe, the compact S05 which follows in the footsteps (tire marks?) of its big brother, the S07.

Nicely appointed with a leather alternative on the seats, steering wheel, centre console and lower half of the dash, the interior feels like an effort to cement the brand as more of a premium contender in the heavily congested electric crossover segment.

On hand to show Car Design News around some of the materials and finishes employed in the S05 during the car’s UK launch was head of CMF design Carine Giachetti-Schweitzer, a former Lamborghini and Nissan designer who is now based at Changan’s gargantuan Turin design studio.

With a handful of different samples on show and with the reflections of a day’s driving in the S05, Giachetti-Schweitzer explained some of the decisions around materiality, colour and cultural differences between China and Europe when it comes to textiles.

Car Design News: Can you tell us a little about Changan’s studio in Turin and how the CMF team looks?

Carine Giachetti-Schweitzer: The Turin Studio has been around since 2006, so 20 years now. There are about 300 people across two different buildings, with exterior design, interior design, CMF design, UX strategy, CAS modelers and more. We collaborate a lot with our colleagues in Chongqing where all the main engineering and production is done, too. In my CMF team we have 16 designers in Europe with 10 different nationalities, while in Chongqing there are about 55 people across not only CMF but what we call the ‘five senses.’ We always try to work together to make sure that we combine all our cultural differences to make a global product that fits multiple markets.

CDN: The S05 is your latest offering for Europe. What was the CMF strategy behind it?

CGS: The philosophy was, broadly speaking, that we didn't want anything too flashy. We wanted something that is quite minimal but also very sophisticated. You can see that in the interior, with the choice of materials, but also the through the exterior colours and the overall design. It's a question of harmony and balance between those colours [inside and out].

CDN: How did you ensure the exterior, which is quite minimal, chimes with the brighter interior CMF theme?

CGS: As you noticed, our colours are not extremely vibrant or strong on the exterior. They're very sophisticated and quite toned down as we tried to find colours that can fit both China and Europe. The main objective, of course, is to offer colours that give this impression of sophistication. Like every brand, we have some neutral colours that will be the biggest sellers, but also one or two ‘expressive’ colours; Mercury Silver and Andromeda Blue both give a different impression. It the same in terms of the interior, where we really tried to find the right balance of colour.

CDN: How do you scout for colours or forecast upcoming trends? 

CGS: There are different aspects. We do use WGSN to check the trends, like most people, but it's a bit tricky because automotive trends take a different path. It’s very important to analyse the market and to understand where is it going in order to find the next colour trend here. We also look at some other alternatives trends, visit different fairs, look at fashion trends and various other things. We do combine all of this but ultimately make our own conclusions to find things that fit our brand image.

CDN: What about materials – there is not much in the way of textile in the S05. Was that a conscious decision?

CGS: Most of the time, we don't really work with textiles. We are focusing more on vegan leather and microfibre materials. But on the whole, mainly vegan leather. Our aim is to give a richness in terms of treatments, so we work a lot with perforation, quilting and embroideries. You will have noticed that the quality is very impressive. There is an attention to detail that is extremely well done, and also the tactile feeling to those surfaces which is something we really work on.

CDN: You stay away from textiles and instead gravitate towards vegan leather options. Why is that?

CGS: In general, we are trying to adapt to both the European market and the Chinese market. In China, textile is still seen as cheap, and even wool is not seen as a premium textile – a textile is a textile – and most Chinese consumers do not really want that [in the car].

We are starting to introduce [textiles] a little bit, and it’s something I’m pushing for step by step, but ultimately we need to find the compromise for that. That's why we focus more on vegan leather, plus there's a lot you can do in terms of treatment. With a textile, you can’t really work on the texture of it. Wool is naturally very strong in terms of texture of course, but it's a bit more difficult to add treatments. You cannot perforate it, for example, and quilting is a bit too much in terms of texture.

The advantage of vegan leather is you have way more opportunities for different treatments and it gives this richness to the interior. It's more versatile and people like how it feels to the touch. This is very important because when you touch vegan leather, it's very soft, very smooth and everybody can understand it's quite premium. But if you touch wool, it can have this rough touch. Some people understand it's wool, so it's premium, but for many others that rough touch is not desirable. So that's why we are pushing more in that direction. 

CDN: There are some nice details in the interior. Was that a conscious effort to boost the premium feel?

CGS: Detail is very well thought through. It gives really this impression of craftsmanship. And to be fair, we're really proud of the quality of our interior materials. The stitching quality is pretty much perfect, and of course we have enhanced it with a contrast colour to give this impression of a sporty interior. The ambient lighting also is very important because it enhances the structure and the architecture of the car.

CDN: I seem to be seeing less and less piano black trim with new cars. Is it becoming a little outdated now?

CGS: I think it's decreasing massively because of the visible fingerprints. People don't like that, which is probably why you are seeing less piano black and more wood in most of those pieces. Plus there is a lot you can do with wood. You can find some coloured wood, although you don't see that a lot in the market, but you can also apply some metal inserts in the wood that feels very premium.