3 questions for Pierre Leclerc, Chief Design Officer, Citroën

Pierre Leclercq is a Belgian designer who worked for BMW, among others, before practicing his talent in China and then being asked to drive a Citroën style. A brand with a strong and unconventional image that relies heavily on great design. We asked Pierre Leclercq three questions during a master’s course at ESA Saint Luc in Liege, where he studied industrial design before studying automotive design abroad.

“Within our design team, we are constantly trying to move the company and group forward with disruptive and environmentally friendly projects.”

Hello Pierre. If you look back over the past 20 years, what has evolved the most in car design?

Many things have evolved in the past twenty years. To put a car on the road today, with all the regulations on safety and new energies and with everything we’re trying to do in the environmental field, the profession of designer has no choice but to adapt. All this has forced us to evolve and integrate technical and technological innovations and understand many more things than before in order to conceive and design cars that meet all these regulations. Besides the style, the technical dimension is the most developed.

Will the arrival of the electric vehicle fundamentally change the designer’s approach?

Clearly yes. Simply because the electric vehicle offers a package that could be very different. In the first place, batteries must be installed that will thicken the floor and impose new dimensions to which we are not necessarily accustomed. Electric cars may have to stay on the road longer. This means that we, as designers, need to take a different approach to design as it will also be required to last longer.

In addition, the space provided by the disappearance of the combustion engine allows us to reinvent the use of space. You can rethink where you put passengers, luggage, etc. As a result, it opens many doors and offers new horizons.

Could this new freedom offered by the electric car give Citroën – a manufacturer less restricted to a specific and “fixed” style – the chance to once again take a golden place in the market?

absolute. I think Citroën already has a gold standard, a place and an image that suits us well. In our design team, we are constantly trying to move the company and group forward with disruptive and environmentally friendly projects. I think we position ourselves as a creative force.

I see a lot of projects that I absolutely believe in, where brand ethics are very important, and that bring or suggest solutions that you don’t necessarily expect.