Needless to ask whether you are interested in automotive design! The fact that you are here and reading this article, is accepted as a token of your appreciation for this field. I am sure you will agree when I say that awareness towards automotive design among the Indians has undergone a sea change and this reflects in many advertisements by various automakers. Take Toyota for example, its Advert for ‘Etios’ was launched in November 2010 with the music composed by our own legendary Mr. A R Rahman. A closer look at the advertisement gives you a feel of music on move, the very point from where the idea of Etios design was conceived. Car lovers today not just decide if they prefer a Luxury car instead of an economy car, instead, the choice can further expand into picking from a range of Luxury and Economy models in the section of ‘Sedans’. People are fast catching up with the Lingo used within the Automotive Industry not just by the salesman (e.g. Sedan, Coupe, Convertible, Estate, Roadster, Fastback, and Hatchback) but also by the experts (viz Character Line, Pillar, Fender, Deck, Wheelbase, Shoulder Line etc.). The options are growing at a pace as if the floodgates of choices for your dream car have just been opened. Today, owning a car means much more than just being a legal possessor of the vehicle. Just as it remains as tough a choice for buying a car so it remains for an automobile manufacturer to produce a car. Innovation being the key, the phrase ‘Value for Money’ gets updated almost every month. Low price is no more considered to be a guarantee for success in the market. Besides, understanding consumer behavior remains no easy task. Tata Nano perhaps is a classic example. Despite being world’s cheapest car the product has not generated revenues as expected by industry experts. Reasons still need to be looked into. Clearly, valuation must be complemented with various other aspects such as Performance, Fuel Efficiency, Aesthetics, Comfort, Ergonomics, Environment Friendliness, Features and Functions, Brand Value, After sales service, Social Stature, Elegance & Styling etc. With multiple brands and variants available within a price range, Design and Appeal of the vehicle is slowly becoming the point of dilution for making a buying decision. Companies acknowledging this shift in consumer behavior have resorted to different strategies. Most of these International names such as Volkswagen, Ford, Renault, and General Motors already have their established Design studios in India to cater to the swiftly changing appetite of domestic car lovers. Domestic companies are no laggers with Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki, all having their dedicated design houses. Clearly, there is a need to cater to the growing necessity for better car designs. The target market segments may differ based upon various socio economic and demographic factors but the importance of a decent design for any niche market cannot be overlooked now. For over a decade there have been many design houses operating in the Indian market and the numbers are growing rapidly. As new entrants ferry into the market the established ones are focusing on gaining specialization. Most of these firms like Desmania, 5th quadrant, FT Design, Mozaic Design among others have traditionally been working as Industrial design houses. Slowly they have moved to product designing and now who knows we may see them into automotive design! Although some of them have already taken a plunge in this segment, however, there remain a lot of untapped opportunities. If not anyone else, at least my team at SJ Design Pvt. Ltd. is definitely looking forward to embrace this change.
