Groupe Renault Opens a New Design Center in Shanghai

• Groupe Renault’s Design Department is pursuing its strategy of international expansion with the opening of Renault Design Center Shanghai, the group’s seventh design center worldwide.

• The team of designers at the Renault studio in Shanghai will draw its creativity from a city on the leading edge of technologies in the development of connected, innovative and electric mobility solutions.

• The new venue for creation and the exploration of the latest trends will contribute to Groupe Renault’s expansion strategy in China.

Groupe Renault’s Design Department, already present in France, Romania, South Korea, Brazil and India, is pursuing its strategy of international expansion with the opening of a new design center in Shanghai. The new Renault Design Center Shanghai will imagine and design future Groupe Renault models directly addressing the expectations of Chinese customers.

Our new design studio in Shanghai fully supports Groupe Renault’s strategy to win over new customers in China. We plan to hire some 20 local designers in the coming months. These talents will help us to anticipate the expectations of Chinese customers. Renault Design Center Shanghai will play a major role in the design of future local products. It will also contribute to global Groupe Renault projects.
Laurens van den Acker, Executive Vice President, Corporate Design.

Renault’s design center in Shanghai will cover all automotive design sectors, including exterior and interior design, colors and materials, UX design⁽¹⁾ and UI design⁽²⁾.

Based in the center of Shanghai and drawing on the city’s creative momentum, the designers will explore the latest trends with a view to responding to the expectations of Chinese customers both in terms of styling and technological innovation.

The designers at the Shanghai center, like those at the group’s other design centers, will be able to participate in in-house styling competitions organized for all Groupe Renault projects. All the studies for future projects will benefit from a multicultural and creative approach thanks to the 32 nationalities present at the Design Department.

The new design center in Shanghai will support Groupe Renault’s expansion strategy in China. The world’s number-one car market since 2009 and Groupe Renault’s fourth-largest market in 2018, China is one of the key pillars of the Drive the Future strategic plan.

Watch a video on the presentation of the new design center by Anthony LO, Groupe Renault’s Vice President, Exterior Design, and Yafei ZHAO, Head of Renault Design Center Shanghai.

⁽¹⁾ UX design: “User eXperience” design concerns quality in use and the perception and feeling of an individual when using an interactive system. This type of design is experienced and applies to how we discover things through touch (haptic perception). UX designers work on the emotional and functional qualities of a product or service that influence the user experience.

⁽²⁾ UI design: “User Interface” design concerns the visual design of all the equipment in direct interface with passengers, notably relating to the graphic design, brand identity and user-friendliness of multimedia screens and dashboard display systems.