On September 27th, the '2023 International Smart Mobility Design Conference' was held in Jiading, Shanghai, where it was announced that the 'Shanghai Smart Mobility Design Valley' located within the Shanghai International Automobile City is officially open. In the future, the Design Valley will focus on the front-end design and innovation aspects of the smart mobility industry. It will concentrate on areas such as ecological integration, academic exchange, innovation and entrepreneurship incubation, research on mobility solutions, talent development, and establish various industry communication platforms, aiming to create municipal and national-level design innovation centers

Data shows that as a significant hub for creative design development in the country, Shanghai's design-related industries have achieved an output of 1.64 trillion yuan, with industrial design output, particularly in automotive design, reaching 207.4 billion yuan. Tang Wenkan, the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, expressed that design aesthetics are a fundamental concept pursued by all automobile brands. In the future, the aim is to integrate the principles of green, low carbon, environmental protection, and efficiency into automotive design, promote more creative design practices, and build a more innovative design ecosystem to attract more automotive design talents to Shanghai to realize their value and dreams

Zhan Jingjing, the Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Engineering, stated that the development of the automotive industry is at a new turning point. The rise of smart cars is reshaping the industry landscape, and the continuous integration of automotive design with rapid technological advancements is leading to a new design revolution

As the trends of intelligence and carbon reduction continue to evolve, the concept of mobility has shifted from choosing a tool to choosing an attitude. 'Design-first' is gaining increasing recognition. Being the 'New Landmark of China's Automotive Industry,' the Shanghai International Automobile City has expanded its focus beyond automotive research and manufacturing to more imaginative design areas. As per the information provided, the 'Shanghai Smart Mobility Design Valley' is planned to construct an industry system with automotive styling, engineering design, and future mobility service design as the core industries. It will be empowered by cross-disciplinary creative design and digital-enhanced design, with design culture and leisure services supporting the industry.

The confidence behind the development of the Smart Mobility Design Valley is rooted in the deep industrial foundation of Jiading, Shanghai. The project is located in the core area of the Shanghai International Automobile City, offering advantages like a complete industrial chain, high research and development capabilities, and a concentration of talent. Additionally, the Design Valley benefits from the support of relevant disciplines at Tongji University, such as automotive, transportation engineering, and creative design, making it conducive to industry-academia collaboration and research transformation

On the same day, the 'International Design Leaders Exchange Center,' focusing on automotive and smart mobility design, and the 'Shanghai Smart Mobility Design Valley Eco-Alliance,' aimed at fostering an ecosystem for automotive and smart mobility design, were also launched simultaneously.

The 2023 International Smart Mobility Design Conference is a city-wide collaborative forum of the Shanghai World Design Capital Expo. The event is organized by Tongji University and the Jiading District People's Government, with Shanghai International Automobile City, Tongji University's School of Automotive Studies, and SAIC Group's Innovation Research and Development Institute as co-organizers. Its aim is to establish an authoritative international exchange platform in the field of automotive and mobility design