General Motors-SAIC has lost design chief to local Chinese auto manufacturer Chery. Reuters reports the lead design executive has been officially poached by Chery.
Steve Eum was an assistant chief designer at GM’s advanced design studio in Southern California for 12 years before moving to China as design chief for GM-SAIC.
“My mandate at Chery is to help take Chery design to the next level of global sophistication,” Eum said after his appointment was announced internally. Most of Eum work can be seen at Baojun, GM-SAIC’s affordable, youthful brand. His task was to make the cars less frumpy, and sleeker. Arguably, he did just that.
Eum’s departure comes as more Chinese automakers are working to win back market share in their home market. General Motors has been a dominant force in China for well over a decade, especially with the Buick brand. Cadillac and Chevrolet have also cemented themselves as major players.
Comments
” Global Sophistication ” , with SUV demand so high in the States , one has to wonder just how long will it be before we see Chery ( Chevy ) being sold right here .
Buick opened the door with the Envision . By the end of the decade barges will be headed to our ports full of Chinese SUV’s .
Isn’t GM also in partnership with Chery?