Why Australian automotive design continues to be related

Though Ford, Holden and Toyota have ceased automotive manufacturing in Australia, the homegrown expertise that beforehand labored for these firms continues to prosper.

Gomotiv is a Melbourne-based design agency that was based in 2020 as a division of the Outerspace Design group, and now has a group of 23 individuals together with ex-Ford, Common Motors, JLR, Kia and Toyota staff.

The automotive design agency most not too long ago penned a wild-looking and Ford Ranger-sized electrical ute idea for Vietnamese carmaker VinFast that was revealed at this yr’s CES tech present in Las Vegas.

Gomotiv has additionally labored with firms together with Chery, Ford, Lightforce, and Premcar, amongst others, doing inventive design, digital sculpting, studio engineering, and likewise visualisation work.

“Our complete philosophy has been that there’s no purpose why Australia shouldn’t have a world class design studio, given the depth of expertise that’s in Australia,” mentioned Gomotiv director Robert Thorpe.

“So I suppose that’s form of the primary purpose why the studio was arrange.

“We’re simply so obsessed with doing this work and doing this work right here in Australia. The group we’re working with, proper in the intervening time, is without doubt one of the finest groups I’ve labored with.

Mr Thorpe beforehand labored for Common Motors for near 17 years and for the final six years of his employment there was the affiliate director on the Superior Design Studio in California.

Justin Thompson, who’s at present the Gomotiv design director, additionally beforehand labored for Common Motors for 21 years. He most notably was concerned in designing the VF Commodore, in addition to a wealth of Chinese language GM fashions.

“For the time being we’ve form of considerably misplaced our id as a result of there isn’t a automotive market. We don’t produce any automobiles which might be offered domestically or abroad,” mentioned Mr Thompson.

“I believe that’s what we’re attempting to do with Gomotiv is to have the ability to preserve these abilities and talent in order that we are able to develop and design merchandise for our market and different markets.”

Though certainly one of Gomotiv’s key motives is fostering and nurturing current native automotive design expertise, the corporate can also be engaged on ensuring this expertise is handed on to the subsequent technology.

“The opposite flip facet of that is we do have some extra junior employees members on the group as properly and that was a aware choice on our half very early on,” mentioned Mr Thorpe.

“We wished to make it possible for there’s pathways for college kids coming from college who wish to get into design skilled careers.

Mr Thorpe defined he has been “blown away” by what Gomotiv’s junior employees members have achieved and that he “doesn’t contemplate them junior anymore”.

“They’re actually contributing on actual programmes and that’s one thing we’re fairly obsessed with,” mentioned Mr Thorpe.

“We actually do consider that there’s something distinctive about Australian design and with the ability to ship high quality design effectively.”

Past Gomotiv, Ford Australia continues to design and develop new vehicles at its design studio in Melbourne even after having ended native manufacturing in 2016.

This facility first opened within the Nineteen Seventies, with each technology of Falcon from the 1972 XA on having been designed right here. Extra not too long ago, designers on the Melbourne studio have penned the current-generation Ford Ranger and Everest.

Ford Australia introduced in 2021 it had accomplished a $12 million enlargement of its design studio. On the time it additionally claimed to have greater than 2500 engineers, designers, technical and automotive specialists.

Final yr Ford Australia introduced a sequence of redundancies. The most recent in June 2023 noticed roughly 400 redundancies in its car growth and design departments, equal to greater than 20 per cent of its remaining workforce in these areas.

The job cuts in June final yr had been a part of “Ford’s international drive to enhance effectivity”, whereas a earlier discount of 250 staff in April 2023 was as a consequence of attrition associated to the tip of the Ranger and Everest growth cycle.

Regardless of the repeated strikes to downsize its employees roster, Ford says Australia stays the corporate’s international hub for design and growth for the Ranger and Everest.

Native automotive manufacturing ceased in Australia on October 20, 2017 when the ultimate Holden Commodore rolled off the corporate’s manufacturing line in Elizabeth, South Australia.

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