Changan brings senior designer to Japan studio

Changan has brought in another experienced designer, this time to its Yokohama studio. David Beasley joins as exterior chief designer at the Japan Design Center, and is the brand’s second significant hire in as many months following the addition of Klaus Zyciora in October 2023.

“I am tremendously excited and honoured to be asked to join Changan Design, one of China’s most successful and oldest OEMs,” Beasley told Car Design News. “I look forward to embracing not only their values and vision but also new friends and colleagues from across the global Changan network.”

A graduate of both Coventry University and the Royal College of Art, Beasley is a vastly experienced designer with numerous brands under his belt. From an internship at JLR (then Land Rover) he would go on to secure gigs at BMW, Volvo Trucks, Pininfarina, Infiniti, Mazda, Nissan, McLaren and most recently Lynk & Co where he served as chief designer for exteriors. Indeed, it will not be his first stint in Japan, having spent time at Infiniti’s Global Design Centre in Atsugi between 2010 and 2011.

Beasley also holds the accolade of working on the redesigned ‘FAB1’ car in 2004, made famous by the retro British TV series ‘Thunderbirds’. Other notable works include the 2005 Mini Concept Car (preceding the Clubman), the Pininfarina Sintesi Concept in 2007-2008 and the 2012 Nissan IDx Concepts (which were recognised among the best concept cars of the decade in Car Design Review X). At Lynk & Co he was responsible for the 2022 The Next Day concept and the 08 production SUV, among other projects.

As a side note for other designers in the market for a new job in 2024, we understand that the Yokohama studio is hiring.