General Motors is investing about $ 71 million for establishing a new campus in Pasadena, California, to substantially increase its Advanced Design Center operations besides creating more jobs in the area.
The announcement is part of GM Design’s broader global expansion. GM’s new Design West facility is currently under construction at the Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, and GM recently announced the expansion of the Advanced Design Center in Shanghai, China.
The innovation campus in Pasadena will expand its operations by two folds and offer access to the region’s rich cultural diversity and talent.
The investment also signals the company’s long-term commitment to maintain a physical presence in one of North America’s largest hubs for multidisciplinary design and cutting-edge innovation. The eight-acre new campus will also expand its capacity to support emerging business opportunities in advanced technology, software integration and future mobility solutions.
According to the vehicle maker, the facility’s relocation from its existing space in North Hollywood to the nearly 149,000 square-foot campus will make room for expanded advanced technology teams that will help accelerate its goal of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. In addition, the new site is closer to technology centres on the West coast, which allows to source talent from leading universities and design schools.
Michael Simcoe, Vice President of Global Design, GM, said, “Our positioning will allow us to attract dynamic candidates in fields that will bolster GM’s proven design capabilities and challenge conventional thinking of what our future portfolio of connected products and services can encompass.”
GM’s advanced design team focuses on developing the concept and future mobility projects that fall outside the scope of existing production vehicle programs. Creating alternative mobility applications can reveal opportunities for transformative innovation and help influence future GM products and services while exploring new growth opportunities for the company.
The new facility will amplify GM’s role in the age of connected mobility, providing the latest tools, equipment and workspaces that have been tactically designed to foster synergy and ideation.
Previous GM Design facilities in California include the Advanced Concept Studio in Newbury Park, from 1983 – 1996, and the current North Hollywood Studio, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020.
The current North Hollywood Design Centre will continue to be utilised for advanced design operations as work on the new facility is completed through the second half of 2022.