Nissan Designer to Head SAIC Studio in Europe

China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. has hired Martin Uhlarik, a designer at Nissan Motor Corp., to head its European design office in London, Automotive News Europe reports.

He succeeds Tony Williams-Kenny, a British designer who was promoted last year to head global design at SAIC headquarters in Shanghai. At Nissan, Uhlarik headed the company's design work on the 2010 Qashqai crossover and Evalia and NV200 concepts.

SAIC also announced it will spend 1.5 million ($2.4 million) to double the size of the London studio. The company acquired the facility in 2007 when it bought bankrupt MG Rover.

The studio under SAIC management penned the current MG3 small car, MG5 compact and MG6 midsize cars all of which are sold only in the U.K. MG tells ANE the brand will introduce the MG3 and MG6 in continental Europe late next year.