Peter Wouda is taking on a new role at SAIC Volkswagen in China
Peter Wouda will be moving to China for a new job with Volkswagen’s joint venture with SAIC, driving the implementation of the wider China strategy devised under Group design boss, Andy Mindt. He will start on 1 August 2024.
”I see my role as being a guide there in the south of China, helping to make sure this strategy becomes a reality,” Wouda told Car Design News, “so we’ll be working closely together.”
The move coincides with the news that the Potsdam studio, where he served most recently as design director, will be closing down. It is purely coincidental as Wouda’s contract there had not been renewed quite some time earlier, returning to his primary role within the Volkswagen design mothership in Wolfsburg. The German designer told Car Design News that even if the studio were not closing down, he would have been shifting to a new position away from Potsdam regardless.
Wouda’s new role is a strategic move to get a better handle on the various trends going on in China, a smelting pot of different customer groups, use cases, geographies and more. Having a design leader on the ground in Shanghai with VW-SAIC – one of two Chinese joint ventures – is believed to be vital moving forward, and Wouda was the man selected for the job.
So many trends are being born in China. The speed of innovation is breathtaking
On the face of things, it will be quite a different dyanamic: Potsdam has been a home for vibrant young designers working on futuristic projects, pushing the envelope and trying things that may never see the light of day. In his new role with VW-SAIC, a joint venture of more than 40 years, the team consists of experienced, process-driven designers working on the minutiae of taking a vehicle to production.
However, China is a market where the pace of innovation is arguably unmatched and Wouda will be kept on his toes to tackle evolving trends around electrification, UX and automated driving technology. “So many trends are being born in China,” agrees Wouda. “The speed of innovation is breathtaking.”
Wouda joins a growing crop of Europeans joining Chinese car makers, including former Volkswagen colleagues Jozef Kaban and Klaus Zyciora.
Elsewhere, Javier Garcia-Gallardo is head of Zeekr’s Shanghai studio; Geely design headquarters has Stefan Sielaff at the helm, succeeding the late Peter Horbury who moved to Lotus at the time. BYD has Wolfang Egger; Michael Silbereis is head of advanced design at Li Auto, and Matteo Fioravanti is senior VP of design at the Pininfarina Shanghai studio. Even Chris Bangle has been brought in as a consultant for electronics giant (and now car maker) Xiaomi. Many more work for the European arms of Chinese brands – Kris Tomasson at Nio, Bertrand Bach at Changan/Deepal – too many to list in full.
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