International Automotive Design Future Trends

Today, the diversity of automotive design languages ​​is unprecedented. Every car company has its own unique expression for car modeling. However, due to environmental pressures, the appearance of cars in major brands and market segments has become more and more apparent, which has caused some designers in the industry to feel tangled up.

Convergence of the appearance of major brands of cars

Volkswagen Group Design Director De. Silva believes that aerodynamics should pay for this trend. In his view, automotive designers are under enormous environmental pressure, designing cars based on wind tunnels, meeting fuel economy standards and reducing CO2 emissions.

Silva said that this will make the major brands and market segments automotive convergence, but the appearance will be more complicated, because car companies will add some non-essential external elements. Silva has always considered simplicity as purely a design guide, but he has faced the biggest challenge so far: increasingly stringent global carbon emissions standards. In order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, body weight and drag coefficient must be reduced. He said: "Although there are several ways to achieve weight reduction, aerodynamics is not an art, but a science. Therefore, the shape of the future cars will converge, so car companies will increase some unnecessary Decorations and patterns to distinguish."

Gordon, deputy director of Mercedes-Benz Design. In Wagner's view, the consistent appearance of its models is very important for a brand. The new Mercedes-Benz C-class best reflects its "perceptual pure" design philosophy. Wagner said that there is only one line on the car body and the appearance is very pure and simple. Since taking over Peter in 2008. Since Paffee, Wagner has redefined Mercedes-Benz's design language, and his influence can be seen in the current CLA, GLA, and S-class cars.

Some industry insiders are concerned that the automotive industry will eventually develop into a perfect aerodynamic shape created by computers like the aviation industry. The only difference is the patterns and colors. In addition to this concern, Livingston, director of automotive design at the Royal College of Art in London, said that the industry has consciously or unconsciously begun to realize that designing a car not only depends on what it looks like last but, more importantly, on behalf of the brand. . Now, Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi are all joining the trend, and regardless of the size of the model, it seems that they have the same aesthetic appearance. Livingston believes that this trend will only increase in the future, because all major brands want to win the customer base in emerging markets.

Two major development trends

Some industry insiders believe that this trend does not push automotive design forward. The most outspoken critic of the status of the design industry is Chris, the former design director of the BMW Group. Bangor claimed that people already have a preconceived notion that the appearance of cars should be what they are, and now the industry generally lacks the courage to go beyond these concepts.

Purely as a popular term in the automotive design world, as the new public golf shows; In addition, the emotional elements are also greatly increased, the appearance adds a lot of stratification. These brands are trying to establish emotional bonds with consumers.

Bangor pointed out that from this year's Geneva Motor Show, it can be seen that two kinds of appearance trends are gaining momentum: first is the increasingly obvious pattern of automotive design, the body lines are increasingly diluted, the industry is more concerned about the package body The power of the pattern. The pattern-oriented trend is evident in the front-end design of Toyota Aygo. Second, the combination of floating geometry and shape can achieve "slimming" effects and applications are increasing. This trend is reflected in the BMW i series, which visually creates a feeling that the car body is lighter.

Headlights and taillights are still important factors in identifying brands and displaying advanced technologies. In the past few years, Audi has applied LED strips to the headlights of each of its models, and other brands have followed suit. In the future, the lights will become smaller and smaller. Livingston said this represents a new generation of young people's aesthetic tendencies. In their opinion, larger lights look old and small lights are more stylish. In this regard, Audi and BMW are competing to become the first car manufacturers to deploy laser headlights, and their products will be available in the second half of this year. Laser light represents the next frontier of automotive lighting.

Sustainable materials are favored

Texture is another popular vocabulary in the automotive design community. In today's world, leather and wood are the most used materials for automotive interiors, but the industry now has a strong tendency to use sustainable materials to explain the new luxury. A former interior designer of Lincoln, Jaguar and Land Rover said: “In the past, if you wanted to express a sense of luxury, you had to use a lot of leather and wood. With the change of times, everyone is now focusing on environmental protection and sustainable materials. It also became an important selling point."

As a result, recyclable plant fibers and polyester fibers have become increasingly popular among designers, and textile and leather tanning technologies have continued to advance, blending with new materials such as aluminum, carbon fibers and synthetic polymers. This change can be seen in the application of the BMW 2 Series leather piercing technology and the VW T-ROC blue leather seat. Derived from high-end clothing and furniture, now quilting technology has penetrated into mainstream models from high-end models. The light blue seat of the MINICooperClubman also uses the quilting technique.

Sustainability is more than just selling environmental protection certificates. According to Ondrich, the director of Mercedes-Benz's creative interior design studio, making the interior of the car look lighter is also a way to show sustainability. If there is a design language, the large volume can be transformed into a floating geometry or shape, which will give the car a very light, breath-like feel.

Reducing the number of switches in the cockpit reflects an upward trend in the design simplification and increases the sense of spaciousness in the space. Two-color dashboard, from top to bottom color from shallow to deep, visually create a more sense of space.