Rolls-Royce's Design Boss Joins *Wait For It* FAW China

Chinese car manufacturer FAW announced that they have recruited Giles Taylor, the former Director of Design for Rolls Royce, as their new Global Vice President of Design and Chief Creative Officer (CCO).

In joining FAW, Giles will be chiefly responsible for creating design strategies and unique style concepts for the FAW luxury brand Hongqi.

He will also oversee the infusion of internationalized design philosophies into the complete range of FAW products including autonomous passenger cars.

Giles, who will be located in Munich, Germany, will lead the establishment of a new FAW Advanced Design Center in Munich, which will house a globalized high-end design team.

The Center will principally undertake project work for the Hongqi brand including both forward-looking concepts and production projects.

Prior to this, he spent 13 years at Jaguar during which time he held the position of Chief Designer for the current XJ saloon and XK launched in 2005.

In 2011, Giles joined Rolls-Royce Motorcars where from 2012 he served as Director of Design up until now.

He led the design of many successful cars including the drop-head Dawn, iconic Phantom VIII limousine and the recently launched Cullinan SUV.

In 2016, his Rolls-Royce 103ex concept vehicle laid an extraordinary “autonomous luxury” vision beyond 2040.

"I am very much looking forward to embarking on an exciting new career path with FAW. Hongqi, as the oldest and most famous Chinese car brand, carries with it a deeply significant and diverse cultural history. There are many inspirational elements surrounding the marque with which to create fresh, modern vehicles for the new era," said Taylor.

Xu Liuping, the chairman of FAW said "His rich experiences in the design of high-end luxury cars and his insight into the trend of global designs and innovations highly match the brand positioning, product layout and future planning of FAW and Hongqi. I believe that his joining will help Hongqi achieve the target of building a 'new noble brand' – the best in China and famous around the world."