PhD Researcher Charles Morgan
21st Century Coach-built, a synthesis of sustainable materials, craft, and manufacturing in automotive design.
Contemporary automotive design is increasingly defined by optimisation-driven convergence, shaped by regulatory constraints, digital engineering tools, and globalised production systems. While these processes have improved performance, safety, and efficiency, they have also contributed to formal homogenisation and a growing disconnection between sustainability and user experience. This thesis argues that material selection—rather than form alone—constitutes the critical nexus through which environmental performance, embodied experience, and cultural meaning are mediated.
Drawing on a combination of design theory, materials engineering frameworks, and empirical insights from semi-structured interviews within a low-volume automotive manufacturer, the study proposes a multidimensional model of automotive design grounded in the Quadruple Bottom Line of Sustainability (QBLS): environmental, economic, socio-ethical, and subjective value. The thesis introduces a Material–Craft-Experience–Sustainability integration loop, demonstrating how material choices simultaneously shape lifecycle impact and user perception.
Addressing the ubiquity of plastics and proposing a change of current automotive paradigms, engineered wood is examined as a material capable of reconciling structural performance, low embodied energy, and rich sensory qualities. The findings suggest that low-volume automotive manufacture (LVAM) provides a critical experimental platform for integrating sustainable materials such as engineered wood into design practice. The thesis concludes that the future of automotive design depends not on further optimisation alone, but on a redefinition of value in which sustainability and desirability are mutually reinforcing.
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Biography
Independent Television News Assistant in the film library March 1973 – July 1974 (1 year 5 months) London, United Kingdom
News Cameraman July 1974 – January 1982 (7 years 7 months) News cameraman
Some of the assignments Charles Morgan covered for ITN were: The departure of the Shah from Iran. The aborted rescue attempt of the US hostages held in Iran. The conflict in Beirut and the Israeli invasion of Southern Lebanon. The transfer of power and the first free elections in Zimbabwe. The “Cod War” a film of the collision between Baldur, an Icelandic gunboat, and HMS Diomedes, a Royal Navy frigate, in Icelandic waters
Co-founder and director of a TV facilities company, Televisions News Team Ltd. February 1982 – June 1985 (3 years 5 months)London, United Kingdom
At Television News Team Ltd Charles Morgan directed and filmed with Sandy Gall the first documentary to go behind Russian lines in Afghanistan in 1982. The film showed the conflict between the Russian Army and the Mujahadeen in the Panjshir valley and included an interview with their commander Ahmed Shah Massud.
Morgan Motor Company Production Manager 1985 – 1999 (14 years)
Managing Director 1999 – 2005 (6 years)
Director of AeroRacing Ltd 2005 – 2013 (8 years)
Presenter CBS Interactive “Roadshow” and “Carfection” 2015 – 2018
In 2000 Morgan Motor Company was voted Specialist Manufacturer of the Year by Autocar magazine and won the Guild of Coachmakers annual motor industry award. In 2001 Morgan collected the Sir Henry Royce Award from the Guild of Carmen. In 2002, the Morgan Motor Company was voted one of the UK’s 100 most visionary organisations by British Telecom. In 2007 the company won the Lord Stafford Award for the best example of knowledge transfer and collaboration between business and the Universities. In 2009 Morgan Motor Company wasvoted car manufacturer of the year by the Manufacturer magazine and Charles received the annual President’s Trophy from the Guild of Motoring Writers.
Non-Executive Directorships Alcraft Ltd 2014-2020, British Volt 2020-2023
Member Technology Advisory Board – Automotive Council 2010 – 2013 London, United Kingdom
In 2010 Charles Morgan was appointed to the Technology Advisory Board Automotive Council to facilitate the introduction of low carbon technology into the UK automotive supply chain.
Appointed to Executive Board Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders 2005 – 2013 (8 years) London, England
Degrees
Malvern Art College Foundation Year, Art and Design. 1968 – 1969
Sussex University Honours Degree in the History and Theory of Art. 1969 – 1971
University College London Diploma in Film Studies, Films and Televison. 1973 – 1976
Coventry University MBA in Manufacturing Management. 1994 – 1996
Coventry University Honorary Doctorate Degree 2003
University of Worcester Honorary Degree of Master of Arts 2008
Loughborough University Honorary Doctorate 2009
Southampton Solent University Honorary Doctor of Business 2010
City of Birmingham University Honorary Degree 2011
Experience
After joining the Morgan Motor Company, Charles Morgan spent three years completing a part time MBA in manufacturing management at Coventry University. Broadly, his work at the Morgan Motor Company involved initiating quality improvements to the range of products and the services the company provides. The addition of new technology and of new models, notably the Aero 8 and its bonded aluminium platform, was essential to this process as well as the successful development and training of the workforce.
Charles was keen to establish links with universities and technological suppliers to maintain the process of continuous improvement throughout the company. Whilst Charles was at Morgan the company benefitted from six Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with UK universities supported by the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills.
Charles Morgan led the team that developed the first AIV (aluminium intensive vehicle) helping design a chassis that met global safety standards but can be over 20% lighter than comparable steel production monocoques. He also pioneered the use of superformed aluminium to produce the complex curves of the bodywork of Morgan.
Awards
Silver Nymph Monte Carlo TV Festival ‘Best Newsfilm’
Funding
Self funded
Exhibitions
Automotive Metamorphosis RCA 2023
Publications
"Morgan 100 Years” Michael O'Mara Books Ltd, 2008
The German Motor Press Club awarded the book the prize for the best car book of 2010 following its translation into German. Updated in 2012 to include the Morgan 3 Wheeler.