Photo: newspress.co.uk
At the moment, Italdesign is essentially putting all of its eggs into the one basket called Volkswagen Group. After the company's most profitable year since it was founded in 1968, it has no reasons to think 2016 is going to end with any less success, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be eyeing up new opportunities.
And anyone who pays even the least amount of attention to the market will have realized by now that the future lies in the Silicon Valley. With technology becoming the most important aspect of new cars, companies such as Google or Apple (but also nVIDIA, to name just a few) are becoming more and more relevant to the car industry. And as if that weren't enough, they also plan to launch their own models, despite the fact they have zero experience in the field.
This is where a company such as Italdesign could come in and help. With its unquestionable expertise and impressive portfolio, the design studio once owned by Giorgetto Giugiaro would have a lot to put on the table in what can only be described as a mutually beneficial exchange. Italdesign could use the extra business while tech companies would suddenly gain a lot of know-how into how a car is designed.
Joerg Astalosch, the new CEO of Italdesign, knows it all too well. Asked what he would do in the situation Google or Apple approached him he replied: "Frankly, I would go to them. It can be Tesla as well. And I think there will be many more startups, especially in America," he told Automotive News.
Italdesign ended last year with record revenues of 197 million euros, of which non-VW Group projects represented just five percent. The once Italian company was acquired in two stages by the German manufacturer who now owns the entirety of its shares. However, that doesn't mean the design studio isn't free to work with other clients, something that Astalosch plans to start doing more often in the future. Apart from working with other carmakers, the CEO intends to develop the industrial design side of the business as well.
"We have to take care of our brand integrity [and] make sure this brand can perform," he said. "If we are not faster, more connected in the process and [provide] more value for money [than our competitors], I'm doing something wrong. I have to offer something better. That is our task."
This is where a company such as Italdesign could come in and help. With its unquestionable expertise and impressive portfolio, the design studio once owned by Giorgetto Giugiaro would have a lot to put on the table in what can only be described as a mutually beneficial exchange. Italdesign could use the extra business while tech companies would suddenly gain a lot of know-how into how a car is designed.
Joerg Astalosch, the new CEO of Italdesign, knows it all too well. Asked what he would do in the situation Google or Apple approached him he replied: "Frankly, I would go to them. It can be Tesla as well. And I think there will be many more startups, especially in America," he told Automotive News.
Italdesign ended last year with record revenues of 197 million euros, of which non-VW Group projects represented just five percent. The once Italian company was acquired in two stages by the German manufacturer who now owns the entirety of its shares. However, that doesn't mean the design studio isn't free to work with other clients, something that Astalosch plans to start doing more often in the future. Apart from working with other carmakers, the CEO intends to develop the industrial design side of the business as well.
"We have to take care of our brand integrity [and] make sure this brand can perform," he said. "If we are not faster, more connected in the process and [provide] more value for money [than our competitors], I'm doing something wrong. I have to offer something better. That is our task."
Google News