The foreign vice president Klaus Zichora invited by Changan, what is the origin?

"Welcome Mr. Klaus Chichora to Changan Automobile as Vice President of Changan Automobile, responsible for global design." On the evening of October 7, Zhu Huarong, secretary of the party committee and chairman of Changan Automobile, announced the news in the circle of friends and Weibo, which aroused widespread attention in the industry, and people couldn't help but wonder what was the origin of the foreign vice president introduced by Changan Automobile?

According to official information, Klaus was previously the global head of design of the Volkswagen Group, and worked for the Volkswagen Group for more than 30 years, designing a number of classic models. In the field of global design, Klaus has achieved outstanding results, and the design team led by him has won a series of awards such as the German Red Dot Design Award, iF Design Award, and the "Auto Bild" Best Design Award.

01

Thirty years in Wolfsburg

Speaking of Klaus, many people in China may feel relatively unfamiliar, but the mention of the model he designed may surprise you. These cars include the Passat, Beetle and Bugatti Veyron, as well as the Volkswagen ID. series electric models. More importantly, he led the design of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth generations of the Golf that made the Golf a disruptive model whose clean, functional design served as a model for many later models.

Klaus has an excellent resume. He joined Volkswagen in 1989 as an interior designer, became the head of interior design of Volkswagen in 2000, the head of exterior design of Volkswagen in 2002, and the head of global design of Volkswagen from 2007~2019, leading a design team of more than 600 people. In 2020~2022, Klaus became the global head of design of the Volkswagen Group, in charge of the design of 12 brands under the group, including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, etc.

It can be said that Klaus has witnessed and experienced the design and changes of many classic and star models of the core brands of the Volkswagen Group. And all this is inseparable from his love of cars since childhood. Klaus previously told foreign media about his upbringing: "I have been interested in cars since I was a child, all types of cars are fascinating to me, from childhood to adulthood, I can recognize each car from a distance, when they approach, I can tell which model. I was able to distinguish them when I was very young: that one was a Mercedes, this one was a BMW, an American car ... I am interested in all types of cars. ”

In addition, Klaus's father was an architectural designer, so Klaus was influenced by the artistic atmosphere from an early age. His father wanted his son to follow in his business, but Klaus's dream was to design cars, so he chose to enter the Braunschweig Academy of Fine Arts near Wolfsburg (where the Volkswagen Group is headquartered). During his studies, Klaus participated in a design competition organized by Volkswagen, won the competition with a unique instrument panel design, got the opportunity to intern in the design department of Volkswagen, and finally joined Volkswagen, starting his long and brilliant career.

Klaus participated in and led the design of several classic models, including the design of the Passat, the redesign of the Beetle, the design of the Bugatti Veyron, and the design of the fifth to eighth generation Golf. In the era of electrification, Klaus led the design of the Volkswagen ID. series electric family. These models have achieved great success in the market.

Image source: Evo website

Overall, Klaus participated in the design of more popular models, which is inseparable from its philosophy. "As a designer, designing a sports car should be your dream, but my dream has always been to design something that is accepted, recognized, and mass-produced. Volkswagen represents the democratization of mobility, and that's a good thing. Transportation should be convenient, not for a few, but for the many. Klaus said.

02

Chang'an strong foreign aid

At the end of 2022, after more than 30 years in the Volkswagen Group, the management of the design team was reshuffled, and Kraus ceased to be the global head of design of the Volkswagen Group. Now, after months of silence, he has a new role as vice president of Changan Automobile, in charge of global design.

Klaus's previous fruitful achievements and international vision have made Changan Automobile have high hopes for it. At present, Changan Automobile has established a global collaborative R&D pattern of "six countries and ten regions" in Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei, Anhui, Turin (Italy), Yokohama (Japan), Birmingham (UK), Detroit (USA) and Munich (Germany). This year coincides with the 20th anniversary of Changan Automobile's European Design Center and the 15th anniversary of its Japanese Design Center, and Changan Automobile hopes that the addition of Klaas will open up a new world for its global automotive design.

In the context of global electrification and intelligence, how to integrate oriental charm with western charm, organically combine traditional culture, digital technology and modern fashion art, and create a unique design language of the exclusive Changan brand, may be solved by Klaus.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that it is not new for world-renowned designers to join Chinese car brands, such as former Audi design head Wolfgang Joseph Iger joining BYD, former BMW chief designer Pierre Leclerc joining Great Wall Motors, former Rolls-Royce design director Giles Taylor joining FAW Hongqi, former Bentley design director Stephen Silav joining Geely, former GM assistant chief designer Steve Em joining Chery, etc.

Wolfgang Joseph Egger in particular, who joined BYD in 2016. BYD's car design in previous years has been criticized, and it is under the leadership of Wolfgang Joseph Iger that a series of dynasty models of BYD have greatly improved its brand image with the "Dragon Face" family design style. There is even an opinion that Wolfgang Joseph Iger reinvented BYD. So, whether the addition of Klaus can help Changan Automobile in global design and brand image improvement, let's wait and see.