SAIC European Design Centre

SAIC European Design Centre

• SAIC European Design Centre
  
  
• Brands MG and Roewe
  
  
• Established 2010 (in current guise)
  
  
• Location Longbridge, UK
  
  
• Staff 35
  
  
• Studio leader Martin Uhlarik
  
  

SAIC's presence in Europe is limited at best through its MG brand, but if its sales are almost exclusively concentrated in its home Chinese market currently, MG's design roots are firmly planted in its spiritual British soil.

All current Morris Garages cars – the MG6, 3 and 5 (in chronological order) as well as the CS concept shown at the Shanghai motor show in April – are products of SAIC's European Design Centre in Longbridge, near Birmingham in the English midlands, albeit finalized in Shanghai.

The studio was opened in 2010 after a £5million investment in SAIC's UK Technical Centre but such are the ambitions of the company that it has already received a further £1.5million investment to almost double its size. Car Design News paid a visit to see the updated facility and speak to Martin Uhlarik, UK design director and global design director, Tony Williams-Kenny.

Outside, the facility looks much as it did three years ago, tacked on the left-hand side of the curvaceous, red brick, Deco-era Tech Centre and opposite the cylindrical building that once housed part of the drawing office in the British Leyland days that now serves as the Sales Centre. Step inside however and it's clear to see where the investment has been made.

Once a modestly-sized, two-plate studio, the space has been extended to add an additional, similarly-sized space with another two plates. An all-new VR room, with folding walls, bisects the two halves of the studio. "We've added the visualization suite and the power wall so it can be one large concept space with the new studio and all four plates or we can close it off – it's quite flexible," beams Martin Uhlarik, clearly delighted with his new studio.

"Last year was basically the foundation year – we were lucky enough in terms of the portfolio that we had a bit of a gap so we had some breathing space," continues Uhlarik who joined SAIC last year to head up its European studio.

"The idea of this studio was already on the cards but we spent a couple of months defining what it is, and lobbying for the money. I've never worked so hard in my life as the last year! It was all finished a few days ago, so we've just been tidying up and playing with our new toys." Amongst these is an all-new five-axis milling machine that, along with the new power wall, is a vital tool in the working relationship between the UK studio and "the mothership" in the Anting area of Shanghai.

Tony Williams-Kenny – who's also paying a visit to the new facility from his base in China – continues: "The VR facilities are very important because we can share data quickly. Also the [physical] models we're working on are both in this studio and in Shanghai in exactly the same condition so that we can quickly review them. It means both teams are involved in the same program rather than something simply arriving in China, which is really bad psychologically as there's no ownership. That's a really big part of the development process."

This is a clear shift in philosophy from when the studio was first opened, tasked with focusing purely on the MG brand, with the Shanghai studio producing Roewe-badged products. "We're much more competitive now so we're able to take both teams and compete on both brands," says Williams-Kenny. "On MG we get an understanding of the demands of the Chinese market but we keep those British values. In terms of Roewe it's much more of a homegrown product but [by using the UK studio] we get that design expertise and it's very much more on-trend. We get the best of everything."

But is the use of synchronized modeling and videoconference design reviews really a substitute for being in the same studio? While Martin concedes "there's no substitute for being there and reading the body language," there's also the feeling that people feel a little more free to be honest – something Tony is keen to foster. He, Uhlarik and his opposite Shao JingFeng, Shanghai design director have created a friendly rivalry between the two studios in order to spur on everyone involved to up their game. "It's not important who did what as long as it's the best, so I would never make a decision based on location and I brief both Martin and Shao to win, but it's a friendly competition," says Williams-Kenny.

With the Shanghai studio boasting 18 full-size plates and 130 designers, is the UK studio – all four plates and 35 designers of it – seen as a more agile, advanced satellite studio? "Because we're smaller we're more flexible and have our finger on the pulse by being in the UK – inspired by all the design around us but also all the products here," says Uhlarik. He's also planning gradual but careful growth, with the emphasis on securing the best talent: "We're looking for designers right now as well as clay and digital modelers over the course of the year. We've got the opportunity to rebuild the studio so there's no compromise in terms of the quality of people. We're targeting the absolute top people we can think of."

It's clear even with all the usual studio paraphernalia tucked out of sight and everyone instructed to be on their best behavior for our visit that this is also a fun place to work. When asked to describe the studio atmosphere, Uhlarik doesn't hesitate: "Pure creativity – design should be enjoyable, it should be casual, everyone should be playing their music, open space. It's an open concept with everybody working together – designers, digital, clay – all next to each other. It's a cross-functional effort and we should all be inspiring each other. It should be a fun, effortless atmosphere and I think if you enjoy your work, you're going to see that in your results."

If this all seems ambitious that's because SAIC's vision for where it wants to be is even more so. To have a competitive car in every mainstream segment by the end of the decade is a huge undertaking considering its starting point.

Of course there is some heritage associated not only to the brand but also its studio – Sir Alec Issigonis designed the original Mini in what is now used as storage behind the new setup. However the rather inauspicious current MG range means Uhlarik and his team effectively have a clean sheet: "It's like a sandbox – it can be whatever we define it to be in terms of brand values, design and quality. You can't help but get excited about the whole idea. We have a huge portfolio of products over the next 5 years. It's unbelievable the money and effort being put in."

Tony concludes by reflecting on how quickly the facility has grown since SAIC took control: "Starting off as a team of four in someone else's facility, then renting space for our own team and then creating our own studio and now having expanded on that is very rewarding."