Germany’s Daimler AG said it is more than doubling its Mercedes-Benz design studio space,just not in Irvine, where it opened its studio in 1990.
Mercedes-Benz is pulling up stakes in Irvine, where it has its 13,000-square-foot Advanced Design Studio on Cowan Street, and moving to bigger digs,34,000 square feet worth, in Carlsbad.
No autos are made in Orange County but the county long has been favored by automakers as a design hub.
Several companies have studios here, where designers and engineers come up with concept vehicles and redesigns for production vehicles.
South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp. just opened its 100,700-square-feet design center inside its new U.S. headquarters in Irvine.
Irvine-based Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., part of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp., has its Calty Design Research Inc. in Irvine.
And Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., part of Japan’s Mitsubhishi Motors Corp., has a design studio here, among others.
The new Mercedes-Benz studio in Carlsbad will employ 25 people.
