Renault Group has just inaugurated the Renault Design Center LatAm at the Ayrton Senna Complex in São José dos Pinhais (Curitiba – Brazil). Located close to the Group’s three plants1, this brand-new design centre will provide the Renault Group with a modern tool for designing vehicles for Latin American markets. It will also enable local designers to participate in Renault’s global creative projects, alongside the Group’s 4 other design centres2 around the world.
“The Renault Design Center LatAm supports Renault’s international strategy. It will enable us to extend our capacity to develop new models for the LatAm region, but also to contribute more to global projects.” Luiz Fernando Pedrucci, SVP Renault LatAm.
“With this new place to create and explore the latest trends, the Renault Design Center LatAm will play a major role more than ever in the design of future vehicles on Latin American markets. It will also contribute to the Group’s global projects by taking part in internal styling competitions for all Renault projects.” Gilles Vidal, VP Design Renault.
Renault Group has had a design office in São Paulo since 2006. With the new facilities of the Renault Design Center LatAm, designers now have a 1,220 m² structure dedicated to creation, from the genesis of the product, the creative and conceptual phase of the model through to the industrial design phase, and suitability for series production (interior and exterior sketches, colour and material design, 3D modelling, computer-generated images to support marketing and communication projects, physical prototypes) with:
- The Indoor Showroom Design: an interactive model and prototype evaluation room equipped with a 360º rotating platform and a 216-inch high-definition screen for presentations, modelling and analysis of 1:1 scale 3D vehicle.
- The Outdoor Showroom Design: a 500 m2 outdoor space with confidential isolation, allowing models and prototypes to be assessed in daylight from different angles and distances, as well as helping with the choice of colours and patterns.
- The Mock-up Workshop: a space dedicated to the development of physical prototypes at different scales to turn 2D design into 3D design.
- The Virtual Reality Studio: for “real-time” visualisation of creative proposals in 3D and in high definition
- The Creative Lounge: an open space designed to facilitate interactivity and brainstorming between teams, with a view to creating concepts and developing projects.
Designers in Brazil have contributed to the development of Renault Kardian, which will go on sale in 2024 and marks the arrival of Renault’s new visual identity in Brazil. They also worked on Renault Niagara Concept, which foreshadows future production models to be launched outside Europe by 2027.
“These new facilities enable our designers to carry out end-to-end vehicle development, using state-of-the-art equipment in line with the most advanced systems adopted by Renault worldwide.” says Daniel Nozaki, Design Director at the Renault Design Center LatAm.
With its strategic location, the Renault Design Center LatAm also has a Social Design function. In collaboration with the Renault Institute, it offers creative support to communities in the region, such as the Borda Viva Association, which creates a range of accessories that reuse waste from the manufacturing process, with the proceeds going back to the local community and making a strong contribution to the region’s circular economy.
1 Brazil, France, India, Romania, and South Korea
2 Passenger Cars / Light Commercial Vehicles (Renault Group) / Mechanical engineering (Horse), plus a foundry (Horse).
SOURCE: Renault Group
