Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has some big ambitions for the automotive industry.
Late in December the company revealed its first electric car, a high-performance luxury sedan called the SU7, and declared its ambition to become a global automotive powerhouse. Read more about the SU7 here.
To help achieve this the Chinese firm has enlisted some big names from the automotive design world. That department is already led by ex-BMW stylist Sawyer Li, who oversaw the SU7 project, and now Xiaomi has hired the controversial former BMW design head Chris Bangle as a consultant.
The announcement was made on the X social media platform by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, as spotted by Motor1, and the firm has also released a video showing Bangle admiring the SU7 and its proportions.
The second echo of BMW in Xiaomi's car design team has just been revealed.
— Tom van Dillen (@vandillenpek) December 29, 2023
Look who entered the stage: Mr. Chris Bangle! Although it was already clear that Mr. Sawyer Li, also ex-BMW, was heading up the EV design department at Xiaomi Technology, we now have a second clear echo… pic.twitter.com/ubXLJuph8o
It remains to be seen what Bangle and Li have in store for future Xiaomi models, but some surprises could be in store as the former has overseen some controversial designs during his years in the car industry.
Bangle is perhaps best known for his “Bangle butt” BMWs of the early 2000s, with the E65 7-Series coming to mind as the most polarising. Other Beemers from that era, including the 6-Series (E63) and 5-Series (E39), also caused a stir among BMW fans.
Bangle joined BMW in 1992, having previously worked for Fiat, where he penned the 1993 Fiat Coupe.
The American-born designer actually kick-started his automotive career with Opel, where he penned the cabin of the quirky Junior concept of 1993, which had detachable components including a removable clock that you could take to your bedside and use as an alarm.
Bangle left BMW in 2009 to start his own design firm in Italy, which dabbled in many industries outside the automotive realm, including building architecture.
Controversial as he was during his BMW days, Chris Bangle was still seen as a design pioneer by many of his industry peers.
Ford’s former Chief Creative Officer J Mays was often a critic of Bangle’s designs but admitted they were instrumental in reshaping modern cars. Retired Renault design boss Patrick Le Quement said his designs had a great deal of presence and were well proportioned.