James Hope appointed Director of Design for Chery Motors Ltd.

James Hope is the latest in a series of Western designers to make the move to head the design team at a Chinese OEM.

Earlier this year, the former Assistant Chief Designer at GM’s Exterior Design Studio in Russelsheim, Germany, was appointed Corporate Director of Design at Chery Motors Ltd., China’s seventh largest state-owned auto maker.

Now based at Chery’s Strategic Design Center in Shanghai, Hope has been working with a core team of strategy members and approximately 90 designers in the company’s main research and design center in the city of Wuhu, in the eastern province of Anhui.

“I have a good feeling about the team – we’re working to bring a level of European quality to the designs,” Hope said in an exclusive interview. “I’ve been encouraged by their progress and the products in the pipeline.”

One of Hope’s more challenging responsibilities is to manage Chery’s diverse range – which includes the Cowin, Riich, Karry, and Rely sub-brands – and develop the design identity of the auto maker’s varied products.

To that end, Hope has also been liaising with Italian design houses to cultivate a more defined design ethos.

“I’m in the position to make a positive difference,” Hope said. “There’s a great opportunity to have an influence on change.”

A Canadian native, Hope graduated from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and has worked for Ford (in both Detroit and Cologne, Germany), DaimlerChrysler, Johnson Controls and GM Europe. He has worked on numerous exterior and interior design projects over the last two decades.

Hope’s career highlights include the Ford GT90 show car (which was the cornerstone of Ford’s ‘New Edge’ design philosophy), the successful rebirth of the 2004 Ford Mustang and supporting the Fiat Trepiuno – the concept precursor of the modern day Fiat 500.

More recently, he was involved in the design of the 2012 Opel Zafira and the Corsa MCE while at GM Europe.

(Design sketches via: Coroflot)