Nissan moves China design centre from Beijing  to Shanghai

Nissan Motor Co has relocated its China design centre, one of five global hubs charged with designing the company’s vehicles, to Shanghai.

Nissan Design China, previously based in Beijing, will continue its focus on creating products for global customers including those in China, the world’s largest automotive market. The centre will be an essential hub for using design to better connect people and communities with products and technologies that are making mobility safer, more sustainable, more exciting and more connected.

Nissan has operated a design office in Shanghai since 2005. Nissan Design China opened in 2011 in Beijing and was expanded in 2013. The centre now has about 50 creative staff at its new home in Shanghai and plans to increase the number to 80 by 2020.

“Shanghai’s embrace of cultural diversity attracts creative talent from all over the world, making it a growing center of innovation,” said Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s senior vice- president for global design. “Shanghai’s creativity will help Nissan build on our 16-year history in China to create an even better future of exciting designs for our customers.”

The China design team was responsible for the Friend Me concept car in 2013 and its evolution to a production car, the Lannia sedan. It has also teamed up with the Society of Automotive Engineers to cultivate young design talent in China.

“Shanghai, our new home, is a nucleus of commerce, finance and industry,” said Yoshihisa Akiyama, president of Nissan (Shanghai) Automotive Design Co., Ltd. “The vibrancy and energy of this megacity will inspire us to create unique designs for the Nissan and INFINITI brands, and eventually Datsun.”

Nissan’s other main design hubs are the Nissan Global Design Center and Creative Box in Japan, Nissan Design America in San Diego, and Nissan Design Europe in London.