After the successful completion of the Quantron Design Award 2024, we had a chance to speak to Koorosh Shojaei, Design and Strategy Manager at Quantron AG. With his extensive experience and deep insight into the automotive industry, Koorosh sheds light on the pivotal role of design in commercial vehicles and offers valuable perspectives on the future of transportation and logistics. Let's dive in as Koorosh shares his journey with Quantron, the company's innovative design philosophy, and its vision for a sustainable and efficient future in transportation.
↳ Do check Quantron Design Award 2024 - Winning Projects
Automotive Design Planet: Hello Koorosh, it's great to connect with you! Could you please provide more information about Quantron AG and elaborate on your role within the company?
Koorosh Shojaei: I have been part of the QUANTRON Team since 2021. We established the QUANTRON design and brand vision for the year 2025 with the initial guidance of Fabio Filippini and his team. Later, as the Design & Strategy Manger I assumed responsibility for all design-related matters, gradually establishing and developing the design team. Our emphasis has been on refining our brand identity and crafting the design of our vehicles, whether in physical or digital form.
ADP: Quantron seems very innovative and distinctive in it’s vehicle design approach. Could you share the design philosophy that drives your team's creative process?
Koorosh Shojaei: As you mentioned at QUANTRON we consider ourselves pioneer in combining technology, innovation, and design. Our customers being the centre of our business model, which is focused on efficiency and effectiveness. This means that with a close collaboration of our R&D, Engineering and Design Teams, we ensure that our products bring highest level of efficiency to the day-to-day business of our customers while providing high-tech and unique styling.
ADP: How would you define the role of design in the context of Transportation and Logistics?
Koorosh Shojaei: The greater the size of a vehicle or object, the more significant its environmental impact becomes. To minimize the impact on the environment, it is imperative to pay careful attention to these parameters. So, designing the commercial vehicles strongly requires a high amount of care and precision in every aspect, such as production methods, supply chain and materials. We at QUANTRON take inspiration from the concept of circularity, especially in the design team.
ADP: How can user-centred design principles improve the overall experience in transportation and logistics?
Koorosh Shojaei: User-centred design principles enhance transportation and logistics by focusing on user needs. In commercial vehicles there are usually more than one users/owner of the vehicles. By incorporating user feedback from our customers, we optimise the design based on the system functionality, usability, and overall experience for drivers, passengers, and fleet owners.
ADP: Can you provide examples of how Quantron AG has positively impacted the efficiency and effectiveness of transportation systems?
Koorosh Shojaei: Our heavy vehicles represent state-of-the-art packaging of all components, both as FCEV and BEV platforms, with the highest driving range in the market and no compromise in practical usage. In addition to this achievement, our Design Team has showcased a great success with the exterior design of our 44-ton European tractor unit QHM AERO by improving the efficiency significantly. In close collaboration with highly skilled aerodynamic engineers, we redesigned the complete front skin, roof spoilers, aprons, and the underbody, we have achieved 20% reduction of drag which resulted in 10% increase of total range!
ADP: As the automotive industry globalizes, the challenge of designing for different markets becomes increasingly important. How does Quantron navigate and facilitate collaboration among its design team ensuring that regional preferences are effectively considered in the design process?
Koorosh Shojaei: Creating a vehicle that appeals to people and the markets worldwide while honouring cultural diversity requires open communication and inclusivity. Everyone's input matters, so we make sure to listen to team members from different departments, regions and cultures during our brainstorming sessions and meetings. This collaborative approach allows the team to incorporate regional nuances effectively, creating vehicles that resonate with global audiences while respecting cultural diversity.
ADP: Sustainability and eco-friendliness are becoming increasingly important in the automotive industry. In your opinion, what design strategies can be implemented to reduce the environmental impact of transportation operations?
Koorosh Shojaei: Let me answer this question with a few examples directly from our own studies and offerings to our customers. Aerodynamic Design is a key aspect which can immensely help in increasing the efficiency of the vehicles. We achieved significant improvement in aerodynamics in the exterior design of our European tractor unit QHM FCEV AERO - as mentioned above.
Using Sustainable Production Techniques can be another important aspect where we as designers can create an extensive impact on the Life Cycle of the final products and their Eco-Friendliness. For instance, we are offering for the first time in this industry, digital print on textile for the seats of our electric urban bus Cizaris 12EV. With the traditional production method, the customer must follow a boring repetitive pattern and order kilometres of textile to have their own design or logo on the seats which brings in a lot of wasted material. With this technique we are not only able to 100% personalise the design of the seat cushions for the choice of our customers, but also to produce as much textile as it’s needed for the specific seat’s size and shape with the minimum waste of material.
Additionally, we are also offering various Bio Based Materials such as tea-based leathers, premium synthetic leathers, recycled leathers, and 3D knitting textiles for our seat covers and the interior trimming.
ADP: What elements should be considered in designing transportation systems to accommodate future urban growth?
Koorosh Shojaei: When planning transportation for urban and extra urban growth, a holistic approach that QUANTRON has taken would be required, in which considering scalability, sustainability and accessibility are very crucial.
Aiming for adaptable infrastructure to provide the Green Energy, high technology within our products as we call it QUANTRON – Inside, and an eco-friendly Aftersales & Digital Solutions to create a sustainable and inclusive mobility system.
ADP: Can you explain how designing commercial vehicles differs from designing passenger cars?
Koorosh Shojaei: Although these two areas might have a lot of similarities but there are major differences as well. In the passenger vehicle industry, the customers are often private individuals while in commercial vehicles the owner, the driver and user might all differ, which makes it very much more challenging. And then once you include the limitations such as lower development budgets, completely different user requirements, total cost of ownership limitations then you need to come up with clever design solutions to address all these needs.
For example, in an urban bus, the owners are usually municipalities or private companies, the driver is an employee of that company or municipality then the end users are mainly the passengers. While in the trucks there is also the same story which the drivers are rarely the owners of the trucks and the trucks are owned by the fleet operators and fleet owners.
ADP: How can a more interdisciplinary approach enhance the overall design of transportation systems?
Koorosh Shojaei: Interdisciplinary approaches foster innovation and creativity, resulting not only in improved functionality but also offer superior aesthetics, user experience, and brand identity.
For instance, when it comes to the exterior of our vehicles by integrating the design and engineering expertise in the team, we can ensure the aerodynamic efficiency and visual appeal, while at the interior of our vehicles we select materials and finishes that enhance durability, sustainability, and aesthetics, in the end we make sure that our HMI designs are crafted intuitive with minimum distraction for the driver in order to improve usability and safety.
ADP: Can you share more insights into how you drive innovation into the non-consumer centric market?
Koorosh Shojaei: We set and adopt a long-term vision then we follow a few main key strategies:
- We conduct continuous market research on products, design trends, technologies and take inspiration from innovations in other sectors, etc.
- We have a laser focus on reducing the TCO (total cost of ownership), which brings our attention and focus to efficiency, optimization, and aerodynamics.
- Finally, we collaborate and partner with experts, certain suppliers from various fields. By our collaborations, we can use a variety of viewpoints and skills to create new and innovative solutions.
- We also execute university partnerships and collaborations where we set the spotlight on the young talents to express their fresh and out of the box ideas to envision the future of transportation and logistics together.
ADP: What are your thoughts on the integration of Artificial Intelligence (Al) in the design process? How do you see Al shaping the future of automotive design from a marketing standpoint?
Koorosh Shojaei: I think our opinion around AI might change every single day, as the tools are evolving significantly fast on daily basis and their effect on all kinds of industries is enormous. But what we can say is that it is increasing the speed of the design process in certain stages, and we should be expecting the fastest design process of all times. I think the design schools and universities should be already implementing AI tools in their education system, as today’s young talents will be the designers of the future who must know how to treat an AI tool, which will be inevitable to ignore.
↳ You should definitely read this: AI is shaping the future of Automotive Design!
ADP: Automotive Design looks very fascinating from the outside but there is immense dedication and hard work that goes on behind the scenes. What advice or insights would you share with young automotive design students who are dreaming of entering this world?
Koorosh Shojaei: Transportation or Automotive Design isn't just a job; it's a lifestyle and a continuous journey. It requires staying open to learning, listening, and observing various ideas and perspectives from various industries and fields. It's a 24/7 commitment, where your mind is constantly analysing solutions and ideas. Dedication and commitment are paramount, as you'll face competition at every stage, from education to career advancement. Staying humble is crucial throughout this journey.
Recommended for students:-
↳ Essential Tips For Automotive Designers - Before You Graduate (Part 1)
↳ Essential Tips For Automotive Designers - Before You Graduate (Part 2)
Additionally, in my opinion, it is crucial for designers to learn how to effectively market themselves and their ideas, whether through presentations, public speaking, or online platforms. Without mastering this skill, there's a significant chance that many promising design concepts may never be brought to reality within the industry.
↳ Check this Free Guide To Optimize Your Design Project For Social Media Sharing!
Quantron Design Award 2023 in partnership with IAAD Turin
ADP: What does the future hold for Quantron in 2024 and beyond?
Koorosh Shojaei: Over the next few years, we will be working with our partners to establish our “All-In-One” Solution, powered by a digital platform in the market. In addition to our own QUANTRON branded vehicles, every manufacturer of zero-emission vehicles will be able to offer their vehicles via our platform in the future. We want to become the leading platform for zero-emission vehicles in the commercial and freight transportation sector.
