Interview: Javier Garcia-Gallardo on heading up Zeekr’s new Shanghai studio

With a new studio in Shanghai, Zeekr is looking to align itself more closely with its biggest market. Heading up the studio is Javier Garcia-Gallardo and Car Design News spoke to the designer about his new role and remit.

Car Design News: Tell us me a little bit about the new studio and your role there.

Javier Garcia-Gallardo: We started Zeekr design around two years and three months ago with a completely new team. Initially, it was a scoop out from the original Lynk & Co design team with just a couple of projects on the lineup. With the new electric push, increasing market competition and the need for speed of development, we concluded that a design footprint was needed in Shanghai or in China specifically.

CDN: Can you explain the thinking a little more?

JG-G: A couple of different reasons. The first one is to better understand the Chinese customer because although we are based in Gothenburg our biggest market is China. We are expanding globally as a brand, but we feel that we are a bit too far away from the Chinese customer.

That was the first key point of getting that market knowledge – that customer knowledge. And the second one is enhancing collaboration with the other arms of the organisation. So with that ambition of accelerating speed and looking for efficiencies, being in the same time zone and on the ground, let’s say, when it comes to development with R&D, suppliers, building the plans, all these kind of things.

We have built up all this brand from design really, with the implementation of new visual identity features and brand message curation, to be local. Finally, we wanted to offer a different point of view. It’s very easy in design to get stagnant. So we wanted to ensure we don’t get too comfortable and support, in the early phase of the programmes, with new ideas, bringing new perspectives to the table.

CDN: Was it a difficult decision to make?

JG-G: For me it has been quite a journey to be honest. I decided to take this step for different reasons. It was very much initially motivated by the design management team here.

Many of them had the experience of living in China before, and I think they saw me as part of their family here for a couple of years already. We wanted to establish a studio in Shanghai that shares the same culture as here and we don’t start creating a “them and us” type of attitude.

I think professionally it is going to be very enriching for me to have that China experience. It’s definitely the country that is leading innovation in the EV space and in the automotive space.

CDN: And how big a step-up is this for you?

JG-G: Well, I’m definitely stepping out of my comfort zone! I’ve been the head of the art department, as we call it, for advanced design research and technology. So I’ve been looking holistically at innovation projects, leading a team of around 14 people.

Now I’m going to move towards leading a team of around between 30 and 35 this year across all disciplines, shifting from a management role to more of a leadership role.

CDN: To your point about cross-disciplinary design, what sort of skills do you think you need in your studio?

JG-G: Yes, we have a full stack of disciplines there – exterior, interior, CMF, HMI, design strategy – as well as studio engineering, digital modelling, visualisation and design quality as well.

CDN: Is it going to work like an advanced studio or will there be market specific projects?

JG-G: I think it’s a bit of both. We will bring a different perspective to the table in the early phase of the projects and then we will support a lot in the late phase of the projects. And then that constant research and monitoring customer trends, for technology trends and so on.

CDN: And the main challenges you see facing Zeekr there, what do you identify to be as the headwinds?

JG-G: It’s a very tough market as you know. At the moment there are price wars going on and I don’t think we want to enter that as a brand. So, I think it’s building up our customer loyalty space in China mostly, but also creating a product that mixes that Chinese cultural richness with global trends.

Because at the end of the day, we are creating a global brand. We are bringing products worldwide. Next year we’re going to have products in South America, North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and Australia. We have already begun deliveries in many of these places. So it’s not that we can focus only on China – this is of course the biggest market – and the key challenge is to expand a brand from China across the globe.