'Design is no longer about geometry alone'

Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President, BMW Group Design, talks about his design philosophy, changes in the role of a car designer, and more

- Aspi Bhathena

Could you tell us how your journey at BMW has been so far?

The journey has been great. The first X5 we did was new for us, and now our X-range is half our business. I'm responsible for the entire group, including guiding Rolls-Royce after we acquired it, and continuing Mini, as well as BMW i. It's never been boring. Right now, it's especially exciting because we've been working for four years on this latest project. We prepared extensively, with technology and design, and communicated early with concept cars to prepare customers and media for the step-change. Each concept highlighted features like sustainability and digital aspects, building up to the final product, which, I hope, is our best yet. It's a pivotal car, not a niche product.

And 40 new models over the next two and a half years?

Yes, and, thankfully, most are already done. We're fully committed to this technology and user interface-panoramic vision will be rolled out across the range. This car introduces our new form language, but each new model will have recognisable, individual features. We want to offer variety within this family.