Chris Hamilton joins from Contechs and will lead design for a broad mix of commercial vehicle projects
Chris Hamilton has taken a new role with Changan, joining many other Europeans who have made the move out East in recent years.
Many will already be familiar with Hamilton as a judge for the 2024 People Awards, but perhaps more so from his two-decade tenure at Ford, serving most recently as head of global strategic design between 2019 and 2022. Joining Contechs immediately after, Hamilton had led the design and engineering consultancy’s efforts to support global OEMs on concept and production vehicles. He left last month and started at Changan in May as global design director for light commercial vehicles (LCVs).
It is a broad remit that is sure to keep Hamilton busy. ”My job entails delivering the next generation of commercial vehicles, pick-up trucks, SUVs and autonomous delivery vehicles for China and global markets,” he told Car Design News, “and am responsible for leading global design teams based in China, Japan and Italy.”
Plenty going on, then, and Hamilton is keen to get stuck in. “First and foremost I am looking forward to the challenge of designing the next range of electric LCVs. China is such a dynamic market and the trends are changing very quickly.”
Recent conversations around Chinese design have raised a similar theme: homogeneity. The concern is that at worst, brands and models are almost indistinguishable. At a broader level, designs are beginning to follow a similar typology and light signature.
Hamilton does not label the situation as such, but does point to an opportunity for designs that stand out from the crowd. “The next challenge for Chinese OEMs is to stamp more individuality onto their vehicles and create a more distinct identity,” he affirms. ”We are starting to see that happen now and I expect this to develop in the next couple of years.”
He is now based in Chongqing in Changan’s design and development centre, and started officially mid-April this year.
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