BYD design chief Wolfgang Egger - previously of Alfa Romeo, Audi and Lamborghini - is going after his previous employers on their home soil with a new Europe-centric design approach for the Denza premium marque.

The Chinese giant is ramping up operations at its new European headquarters in Milan, where a dedicated design facility will aim to bring all BYD cars into line with local tastes and expectations.

In an exclusive interview with Autocar, Egger said the new facility will be "the dedicated place for design research, mainly to capture European tastes and trends and translate them into design ideas for Denza and BYD."

The move has particularly significant implications for Denza, which is the first volume Chinese premium brand to launch in Europe.

Its first car, the Z9 GT, is a £100k Porsche Panamera rival and it has recently been joined by the Z, an electric 911 Turbo chaser priced at more than £150k.

Denza faces a fierce challenge to convince European premium buyers to switch from local marques like Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW and Audi to an unfamiliar alternative. But Egger said designing Denza models in the market they are meant to disrupt will be vital to the brand's competitiveness.

He said BYD is "confident" about breaking down long-standing brand loyalty ties in Europe and getting Denza a foothold, adding: "We can compete with traditional [brands] with innovation and new designs."

Denza's technological prowess has been cited as a point of differentiation from legacy rivals. The Z9 GT's 'tank-turning' functionality and the tri-motor U9's trick magnetorheological suspension are among the most obvious examples.

But Egger said the new Europe-centric approach means Denza can boost its competitiveness in terms of design, material appeal, personalisation and brand familiarity as well.

He said Milan is the natural home of BYD's European design operation because it will allow his team to "create contacts at the most important fashion houses" with the aim of exchanging ideas on "trends and materials".

Indeed, Denza's European launch took place at last year's Milan Design Week, exhibitors at which included Prada, Gucci and Fendi.

Setting up in Italy was also important because the country is a "tier-one" supplier for premium and luxury materials - including leather, for example - but also new, innovative materials and recycled materials", said Egger.

He pointed to the Z9's bamboo door cards as an example of how repurposed materials can be deployed in premium interiors and suggested the new studio will investigate further ideas in this vein.

The Milan base will also play a significant role in bolstering Denza's credentials as an upmarket brand by providing a base for an atelier-style "customising boutique", where potential customers can "see and touch these materials and ideas", as they might when specifying an Aston Martin or Bentley.

Egger headed Audi Group design - a role that included responsibility for Lamborghini - for six years, having previously been design chief at Alfa and Seat, so he is well versed in the trials of Europe's competitive premium segment. But he said the new hub provides a platform from which to promote Denza's unique attributes.

"We have the best technology for the new era," he claimed. "We can compete with [traditional brands] with innovation and new designs."

Denza's next European model will be the Bao 5, a Land Rover Defender rival that's already on sale as the Fangchengbao 5 in China.

Future candidates for export to Europe include the large N8 and N9 SUVs, the D8 4x4 and the Z9S saloon - each of which could be in line for adaptations in Milan.

From Alfa 8C to BYD Seal U DM-i

Wolfgang Egger doesn't often speak to European media, so his recent visit to the UK was a rare opportunity to ask him what it was like to go from designing some of Europe's most aspirational cars - such as the Alfa Romeo 8C - to managing a 1200-strong global team designing some of the world's most affordable and popular cars, like the Seal U DM-i crossover.

"The best advice I had in my life was from Walter de Silva," he said, referencing the former Alfa, Fiat and Volkswagen Group designer.

De Silva told him: "Don't fall in love with your designs, because then you get too involved and you don't have any distance."

Egger said: "You need to take the distance and then come back every day. Then you learn to appreciate [everything] from a city car to an off-roader to a sports car."