Peugeot selects Brazil for new satellite design studio

Peugeot has announced the opening of a new satellite design studio in São Paulo, Brazil. It will be the company’s third studio outside of France, and although it will mostly be used to work on non-automotive projects, the new studio will play an important role in Peugeot’s wider strategy.

The studio will come under the ‘Peugeot Design Lab’ group – a collective term used to refer to the four design studios that Peugeot controls in Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai and now Brazil. As well as producing models for the car brand, the Peugeot Design Lab has worked on numerous projects outside the automotive realm, including a specialised piano for Pleyel, a helicopter for Airbus and a yacht for Bénéteau.

One of the main areas of focus at the new studio in Brazil will be brand image. The team will draw on Peugeot’s experience in the automotive sector to create differentiators and identifiers for its clients that operate in other industries, and will call upon the teams in Paris, San Francisco and Shanghai for help.

The Brazil studio will be headed by Fabien Darche, PSA Group design director in Latin America. “We are going to consolidate Peugeot Design Lab in Brazil not only by fostering the know-how, experience and excellence of Peugeot design from the automotive field, but above all by offering customers the opportunity to detect the refinement and elegance synonymous with Peugeot design in other products and services,” he says.

Peugeot’s decision to create a satellite design studio that operates outside the automotive industry comes as no great surprise. Brand identity is a factor that governs all industries, and with a wealth of knowledge and experience in what is arguably the most competitive of them all, Peugeot’s strengths in car design will allow its clients to make crucial design decisions with confidence.