He joined Saab in October 2000 as chief of advanced design and led the creation of the Saab 9X, 9-3X, 9-3 Sport Hatch, and Aero X cars. In August 2004, he was named director of advanced design for GM Europe, and heads such activity for Opel, Saab and Vauxhall brands.

Based in Ruesselsheim, Germany, Lo attributes his lifelong love of cars to his home town. 'Growing up in Hong Kong it's impossible not to be interested in cars,' says the father of two. 'Premium cars of exceptional quality that are rare by European standards can often be seen in Hong Kong, and it's not unusual for young boys to develop an interest in cars.'

As a child, Lo built many Tamiya model kits and spent hours appreciating their lines and details. 'I would try to draw my newly finished models from various perspectives,' he says. 'I dedicated much of my childhood to remote-controlled cars. Their engineering is actually very thorough and details like suspension parts, gearboxes and internal combustion engines resemble real cars.

'I would spend hours at night tuning them after reading experts' advice in magazines and go racing at weekends. My father used to subscribe to various international car magazines, most of which I couldn't understand because they were in German and Japanese. I would simply admire the pictures and compare specifications and performance figures.'

Lo says when he was 13, his teacher asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up. 'My answer was, 'car designer',' he says. 'All my classmates thought that was naive. As the car industry didn't exist in China at the time, it was impossible to pursue this career in or near my home town. After finishing high school I applied for a place at the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic [now Polytechnic University].'

In the first year of his higher diploma in industrial design, Lo received a Pauline Chan Travelling Scholarship, which enabled him to take an internship at Ogle Design in Britain. 'I travelled with the Ogle designers to the Royal College of Art to a tutorial by the famous car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. I was so inspired by his speech I decided right there that it was car design or nothing. I applied to the college after I graduated and the rest is history.'

Lo says his Hong Kong roots may have been an influence on his perceptions of space, design and function. 'Because of the limited space in Hong Kong, everything from transportation to office space and houses is optimised for the best performance in given external dimensions. This philosophy is consistent with my designs.'

The designer is diplomatic when asked whether Hongkongers pick the right cars for their roads.

'Roads in Hong Kong are actually well designed for cars of any shape and size,' Lo says. 'Small cars would only make sense if everybody drove one. It can be quite intimidating driving side by side with big cars, trucks and double-decker buses.

'Drivers in Hong Kong are way too aggressive,' he says. 'Another issue for me is that most luxury cars in Hong Kong are all specified with high displacement engines that are simply unnecessary for the roads and distances that most will travel. They generate more CO2 emissions and consume more petrol even when not pushed hard. 'There is a growing trend in Europe towards lower displacement but higher efficiency turbocharged engines, even in the luxury segment. Our Saab E85 BioPower engine is a good example. Our obsession with 'bigger is better', especially in engine displacement, will need to change.'

So if Lo had to design a car for Hong Kong, what would it be?

'It should be a zero-emission car, highly efficient, but with no compromises on style,' he says.

'It would have to be an extremely stylish car for special occasions, perhaps a sports coupe with a hydrogen fuel cell engine that [only emits] water vapour.

'The chassis and all the body panels would be made of aluminium alloy and composites to save weight without compromising rigidity. All glass panels would be made of Lexan or polycarbonate, which can be half the weight of glass. With a long list of options and accessories, it could be customised according to the wishes of the customer,' he says.

'Since it would be produced in only very limited numbers, exclusivity would be guaranteed.

I want to make the point that environment-friendly cars can also be ultra-stylish and highly desirable, and such a high-profile product would draw attention to the environmental problems we face.'