AI will replace car designers within 10 years, says Mercedes-Benz design chief - Related to failed, says, nissan, within, emissions

AI will replace car designers within 10 years, says Mercedes-Benz design chief

Artificial intelligence – rightly or wrongly – is becoming more prominent in creative industries, forcing many to rethink their future careers as the technology improves at an exponential rate.

While the internet is awash with AI-generated images of cars which will never see the light of day, carmakers are aware of the threat AI poses to design jobs.

Speaking to US outlet ABC News, Mercedes-Benz chief design officer Gorden Wagener spoke candidly about how AI could change the car design industry, and potentially put him out of a job.

“We work with AI now. You get 99 per cent of crap with AI and sheer quantity,” Mr Wagener expressed.

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“That’s the biggest problem – sorting out the good stuff from the bad. But you get one per cent good stuff and we keep learning. It’s getting improved every day.

“AI will drastically change the way we design. I think in 10 years maybe most of design will be done by AI and it will make designers obsolete.

Mr Wagener jokingly added: “My successor will be a machine and will be much cheaper than my salary.”.

Mercedes-Benz isn’t the first carmaker to openly talk about the potential impacts of AI on car design, with Nissan last year admitting the facelifted Qashqai’s design was aided by AI tools.

“If you look at this grille, it’s quite clever, it’s designed partially with AI. We use it to start the pattern and then finish it by hand,” Nissan’s European vice president of design, Matthew Weaver, told media including CarExpert at the Qashqai’s UK production home.

“I mean, there are many ways to come up with a design, either by sketching it by hand or building it by hand. But actually, we can now run [AI] programs where we can generate various patterns.

“We scan a little bit, we set a computer to run on different patterns, then we select that front [design] … then at the end we just jump into the AI design and finish it by hand.”.

Within the car industry, AI is being used for more than just design.

Volkswagen has started to integrate AI chatbot ChatGPT into the IDA infotainment voice assistant system of some of its new models.

In Australia, Suzuki in recent times presented 92 of its dealerships will feature ‘Hey Suzi’, an AI product allowing clients to book a service, make an enquiry or be transferred to roadside assistance.

It’s been introduced as a way to lighten the administrative load on Suzuki’s staff, and in turn reduce costs.

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GWM set to ‘thrive’ amid tightening Australian emissions regulations

The Australian Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) went into effect on January 1, 2025, and China’s GWM proposes it’ll “thrive” amid the new emissions regulations.

GWM Australia has admitted it needs to introduce more hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) offerings to meet tightening CO2 emissions targets.

The corporation already offers five hybrids and one electric vehicle (EV), but in 2025 it plans to launch an additional four PHEVs. These include the Haval H6 GT PHEV, Cannon Alpha PHEV, Haval H6 PHEV, and Tank 500 PHEV.

The Chinese carmaker’s Australian arm confirmed it doesn’t plan to introduce any new EVs to sit alongside the Ora hatchback this year.

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Speaking with CarExpert, GWM Australia head of marketing and communications Steve Maciver expressed there’s “additional EV investment and product development happening” and it’s something the business will be able to talk about “in the coming months”.

Despite this, Mr Maciver says GWM is still giving its clients choice and is continuing to invest in internal combustion engine technology.

“By bringing the right vehicles at the right price, GWM is democratising technology and giving our clients choice. We think that’s crucially crucial,” expressed Mr Maciver.

“As a growing brand, with the uncertainties in [the] market, we’ve got the right solution for the right customer at the right price, depending on what powertrain option you feel most comfortable with.

“Well, we do believe that we are going to have to drive a much higher hybrid and PHEV mix to flourish in the NVES cycle.

“I think our model lineup reveals that we’re going to be prepared to do that.

“But ultimately, if we do make our model range more accessible across Australia and New Zealand, there’s no doubt that we’re going to be able to achieve this.

“Ultimately, we are ready to thrive in the post-NVES period.”.

As previously reported, NVES is a set of laws imposed to incentivise manufacturers to reduce CO2 emissions across their vehicle lineups.

All new passenger and light commercial vehicles sold with a mass of less than [website] tonnes are covered under the scheme.

If carmakers exceed an average carbon emissions target on the vehicles they sell each year, they will be penalised $100 per g/km of CO2 for every vehicle that exceeds the target.

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Nissan Could Replace CEO Amidst Dismal Earnings, Failed Merger

Rumors that Nissan wants to replace its CEO began surfacing in the fallout from the automaker’s failed merger with Honda. Now, a new Bloomberg analysis alleges the organization’s directors are looking for potential candidates to replace Makoto Uchida, who has led the organization since 2019.

The study, , says the directors want to change the enterprise’s leadership lineup, including streamlining the management structure. Nissan will supposedly announce the switch on March 12. However, Reuters reported that the shakeup wouldn’t include Uchida leaving his post.

Uchida’s contract with the firm expires in 2026, and he previously told reporters that he would step down if asked, but expressed that he wanted to right the ship before leaving. That won’t be easy now that the merger is dead.

The Japanese carmaker is bracing for a ¥80 billion ($534 million) loss at the end of March after Uchida unveiled a turnaround plan last year that failed to materialize. It's also facing a substantial debt bill next year, .

Nissan’s struggles came into focus in the second half of last year. In the United States, signs of trouble first appeared in May when the automaker asked dealers to begin selling cars at a loss, which led to hurting dealership profitability by August. Earlier that same month, Nissan and Honda expanded an earlier partnership, which is still ongoing, to work on electric vehicles and software alongside Mitsubishi. Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn called it a “disguised takeover” by Honda, and by all measures, he wasn’t far off.

By November, things were starting to get dire for Nissan. The organization presented it would lay off 9,000 employees, sell a portion of its stake in Mitsubishi, and reduce global production capacity. It had already trimmed production of its popular Rogue crossover a few months prior. By the end of the month, some executives in the organization told the press that Nissan had 12 to 14 months left to survive. That was three months ago.

A few weeks later, at the end of December, Nissan and Honda presented they were officially looking to merge, but the talks quickly deteriorated as Honda shifted direction, wanting to make Nissan a subsidiary instead of an equal partner—something Nissan didn't want. The two officially called off the deal a few weeks ago.

The struggling Japanese automaker is now on its own again, although it is open to other partnerships. Uchida expressed earlier this month that it would be “difficult to survive without leaning on future partnerships.”.

The Taiwanese electronics maker Foxconn is interested in partnering with Nissan. But the Honda merger is not completely dead yet. Honda expressed it's willing to reopen negotiations with Nissan. Considering Nissan's current state, Honda could get its wish. Either way, the next few months will be difficult for Nissan and its embattled CEO. We should know more about the business’s direction early next month.

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