The GAC R&D Center Europe is located in what was once the studio of the late Giovanni Gastel, an internationally-renowned photographer, writer, and poet. The studio will host around 25 professionals practicing vehicle design, experience design, and visual branding It joins the automotive brand’s two other design studios in Los Angeles and Shanghai to enable the exchange of ideas and the sharing of best practices on a global level.

GAC Group’s design studio will be led by Stephane Janin, a French automotive designer who has extensive automotive experience working at companies such as Renault, Dacia, Alpine, Samsung Motors, Infiniti, and Nissan. Janin is known as the “master of concept cars,” and his sketches are considered works of art.

“Car designers need inspiration and big cities are the ideal places to capture the spirit of the times. Milan is a perfect example of this. We want to be an active part of the creative community in Milan, and that is why we have chosen the studio of a great Milanese artist and a symbolic area for design and art as our home,” Janin said. “The GAC Group R&D Center Europe will be a new generation car design studio, completely digitized, with the ambition of attracting young professionals and nurturing their creativity.”

For his part, Zhang Fan, General Manager of GAC R&D Center Europe said, “Design is one of the most important values for the GAC Group, and in today's market, a key decision factor for customers. We have chosen the city of Milan as our first European design hub for its strong cultural and creative identity, which combines ideas in motion, innovation, and heritage of style and design. We are confident that this center will enable the meeting of creative resources and the development of cutting-edge ideas between our country, Italy, and the rest of the world.”