Automotive design conclave in Chennai sees industry debate challenges

Customers are expecting cutting-age vehicle technologies at an affordable cost which puts considerable pressure on automotive designers in India. Using new and alternate material to address this challenge is becoming increasingly important.

OEMs in India currently source a lot of vehicle design from overseas today but India has the right talent pool and capability to not just make designs in India but export as well. These were some of the views expressed by speakers at a conference on ‘Future of Automotive Design’ in Chennai today, organized by the Tamil Nadu Technology Development & Promotion Center of CII. Autocar Professional was a media partner to this event.

In his keynote address, well known car designer Dilip Chhabria, chairman and managing director, DC Design, said, “Today car lifecycle and product design are getting shortened. This is adding a challenge to design vehicles but new technologies like 3D printing are allowing designers to do a lot of vehicle customisation.”

He added that automotive is going to grow in the decades to come as cars are the most aspirational product ever created by man and cannot be wished away.  India and China together have 40 percent of the market in terms of populations and these two key markets will continue to drive automobile demand globally.

Subu Subramanian, managing director and CEO, Hinduja Tech, said that digital India and design India go hand in hand and there is a lot of convergence happening in automotive design. Connected cars are creating massive new business opportunities for auto tech and telecom companies and technologies are driving both active passive and active safety.

He elaborated that cars have become increasingly digital and electronic content in cars, which was just 5 percent in the early 1970s, is 30 percent currently and expected to go up to 50 percent by 2020.  

In a plenary session titled ‘Automotive Product Design Concept to Launch’, Rajinder Sachdeva, executive vice-president and head, technology, VE Commercial Vehicles, highlighted the various trends that are driving the commercial vehicle industry. He discussed the social, legal and technology trends evident in the country and their impact.

He said the commercial vehicle industry has been seeing changes like lightweighting to increase the payload of the trucks, bring in comfort so that the driver will be attracted towards the vehicles, focus on safety of the vehicles by adding various features and connected and autonomous vehicles.

According to Sachdeva, the key cornerstone for automotive designs are a robust new product development process, first-time right, reduced time to market and competence and innovative challenges.

Rajiv Bajaj, general manager, Stratasys AP, underlined the growing importance of 3D printing and its impact and how it is changing the world dramatically.  

The daylong conference served as a key platform of knowledge to discuss on major design trends in automotive industry, focusing upon modern technologies and tools that bring in design and innovation.

Speakers from across the industry discussed the challenges and road ahead in automotive design. Nearly 250 delegates from various companies attended the conference.