TESLA is searching for a design director in China, part of efforts to open a “full-function” studio in Shanghai or Beijing and design electric cars tailored to Chinese consumer tastes, Reuters quoted sources with knowledge of the matter as saying yesterday.

The U.S. carmaker’s human resources managers, as well as several headhunters, have been trawling the industry over the past four months, the sources said.

They are looking for “bi-cultural” candidates with 20 or more years of experience who are familiar with Chinese tastes and can bridge the gaps between China and the United States, they added.

Some candidates have been interviewed by Tesla’s global design chief Franz von Holzhausen, according to the sources, though it was not clear how many potential candidates had been approached by the company and recruiters.

China is the world’s biggest auto market, plus the largest for all-electric vehicles with sales volumes expected to reach roughly 1.5 million vehicles there this year, according to consultancy LMC Automotive. It is also Tesla’s No. 2 market after the United States.

The carmaker’s plans for the design studio are not fully developed, and the sources believe Tesla will likely wait for more clarity on Sino-U.S. relations under a new U.S. president before making a final decision on the move and all its details.

The talent search, which the sources said was mainly focused within China, fits with comments from Tesla boss Elon Musk early last year.

“I think something that would be super cool would be ... to create a China design and engineering center to actually design an original car in China for worldwide consumption. I think this would be very exciting,” he said at a media event in Shanghai.(SD-Agencies)