Watch: Joaquin Garcia, Italdesign

At the CDN People Awards judging event in Michigan, Car Design News editor James McLachlan spoke with Joaquin Garcia, head of design at Italdesign, about the Italian studio’s growing presence in North America, the evolving role of design, and the pressures facing legacy carmakers in an era of disruption.

Garcia explained that Italdesign’s Detroit office, established a few years ago, has become both a hub for engineering and a listening post for European headquarters. “It’s an antenna for us back in Italy to better understand American consumers, markets and products,” he said. While initially engineering-focused, the studio also aims to expand its strategic and design activities, supporting US-based clients in shaping their own design and product identities.

Reflecting on the global car market, Garcia acknowledged the mounting challenges for established OEMs. “The main one is how the legacy brands are modernising themselves to be fit for the newcomers,” he said, citing the rapid rise of Chinese carmakers with competitive technology, design and pricing. As consumer loyalty shifts, Italdesign’s role increasingly involves helping brands clarify and evolve their visual and emotional identities. “Identity is a big asset from the legacy brands,” Garcia said. “We are here to support evolving and transforming those identities to be future proof.”

He described Italdesign’s approach as “co-creation” — a close partnership where the OEM defines its DNA, while Italdesign provides fresh perspectives. “Having an outsider view gives you fresh eyes, but we shouldn’t be superficial,” he noted. “We really want to understand the identity of a brand.”

Garcia also sees the rapid integration of artificial intelligence as reshaping creative workflows. He views AI as “the perfect tool to enhance our design capabilities,” and considers AI literacy essential for new designers. Yet he cautions against using it as a creative substitute: “AI is a tool to accelerate and empower designers, but by no means should it be understood as an intellectual copilot. We still need a vision.”

Despite industry turbulence, Garcia remains optimistic. He foresees “a kind of natural selection” among the proliferation of global brands, with design playing a decisive role in determining which survive. “We want to be part of the future, not part of the past,” he said, adding that European OEMs are already evolving strongly. “Design should be a brand ambassador, a brand shaper. The purest DNA of the brand should be understood and evolved mainly by the design department.”