Automakers have designs on global gains

“To focus globally, yes that’s good for company that’s global, but Chrysler isn’t and their ability to expand overseas is, I think, questionable,” Bragman said. “For GM to have design influences internationally is a necessity; for Chrysler to claim international influences is optimism — true, they want to have greater role internationally, and they have to have one if they want to survive, but it remains to be seen if they can do it on their own or through partnerships, which I think is more likely.”

With a recession looming and gasoline prices well over $3 a gallon, market research firm J.D. Power and Associates now expects U.S. auto sales to fall to 14.95 million cars and light trucks this year, down from a previous estimate of 15.7 million vehicles and below a sales level that’s generally seen as healthy — about 16 million vehicles. So it’s not surprising that U.S. automakers are focusing on overseas markets where double-digit annual sales growth is now the norm.

China, for example, is figuring prominently in the design direction of Buick, an iconic American brand that’s seen as old and stuffy here in the United States but is GM’s most popular brand in China. GM’s Buick Riviera coupe concept, for example, which was shown at the Detroit auto show last January, was designed in China.

At the same time, Ford is reorganizing its design and engineering centers around the world to make the company more global and speed up vehicle development. Certain engineering centers will be responsible for developing the core attributes of Ford brand vehicles worldwide.

Ford’s Fiesta is one of the most visible parts of the automakers’ new global focus and part of a plan to breathe life into its core brand. The global car, which is expected to look much like the stylish Verve concept compact car shown at the Detroit auto show in January, was designed in Europe and will go on sale in North America, Asia, South Africa and Australia by 2010.

The global trend could be an ominous sign for the car design community. Chrysler’s decision to close its California-based Pacifica design studio is the latest sign that demand for design jobs in North America is declining, according to Bill Barranco, principal of Autovision, a recruitment firm based in Palo Alto, Calif., that serves automobile designers and design studios in Europe, North America and Asia.

“The market is shrinking dramatically,” Barranco recently told automotive industry publication Ward’s Auto World. “Ford [is] not hiring anybody. General Motors doesn't need any more people. If anything, they're hiring for [South] Korea or Australia or Germany,” he told the publication, adding that while Toyota needs a few designers in Michigan, Hyundai-Kia isn’t hiring and Nissan is cutting designers.

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