(Africa) Artificial Intelligence as a tool for Automotive design style?

While AI is still in its infancy when it comes to concept generation, its potential to reshape automotive design in Africa is undeniable. Rather than replacing designers, AI will demand a shift in their roles—elevating them to design managers who guide, curate, and refine AI-generated outputs. 

This evolution will allow professionals to focus more on vision, cultural context, and strategic decision-making while AI handles iterative tasks and data-driven experimentation. 

For Africa’s emerging automotive industry, this means local product development can lead to the creation of vehicle concepts deeply rooted in African identity, and storytelling appreciating the context yet embrace new ways to craft solutions. Over time, as AI tools become more sophisticated, they will serve as collaborative partners in building a design language that is proudly and unmistakably African.

To harness the full potential of AI in automotive design, African design institutions, startups, and OEMs must proactively invest in the right foundations.

 This includes upskilling designers in AI literacy, fostering multidisciplinary collaboration between technologists and creatives, and creating datasets that reflect African contexts—materials, environments, patterns, and cultural references. 

Establishing innovation hubs and partnerships with global AI research bodies can also accelerate this learning curve. By integrating AI into design education and practice early on, Africa can leapfrog traditional design bottlenecks and cultivate a new generation of creative leaders—those who can direct not just the tools, but the entire design narrative of the continent’s mobility future. 

 

 

All Images in this post are Ai generated.  

(Artificial Intelligence) The future of Automotive Design?

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 said. 

“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 better 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.”

"Our goal is, to build the most desirable cars in the world, for the brands of the Mercedes‑Benz Group."

Courtesy of 

https://www.mercedes-benz.com/

https://group.mercedes-benz.com/innovation/design/design-process.html

https://CarExpert.com.au