Italian engineer helps carmaker compete against global giants

Marco Gilardi, who spent 30 years at Italian automobile giant Fiat, has concentrated his efforts on creating a homegrown brand for Guangzhou Automobile Group Co, a major Chinese carmaker, in the past six years.

As chief engineer of vehicle integration and chassis at the GAC Engineering institute, he has witnessed the launch of three models since the first hit the market in 2010 and is involved in the development of new-energy cars.

The institute, which was founded in 2006, is also doing research on driverless models.