Explained: Why auto design from Indian carmakers lags global standards

The majority of the cars in India have not been very exciting, perhaps because they have been so value conscious, an expert said

Last month, when Pune-based automotive designer Dilip Chhabria was arrested for an interstate scam that he was running, the inside joke amongst professionals in the auto industry was that he should have actually gotten picked up years ago for his less-than-terrific designs. Chhabria’s vehicles, which were modified to look like snazzy customised versions of their avatars, usually had consumers complain for two reasons: one that they were too aggressive on the style factor and, second, that they impacted the engineering of the car and eventually caused vehicle performance to falter in due course of time. While his cars did get attention among hot-rodders, no design of his ever made it to large-scale commercial manufacturing lines. That DC existed despite complaints over the years may be an indicator of the shallowness of the pool of design talent in the domestic industry.

For example, take Xylo, the Mahindra & Mahindra SUV that was launched in 2009. The Xylo drew bad reviews when launched and sold less than expected numbers. It was eventually discontinued in 2019. Company officials said, “While there may be two separate teams working on interiors and exteriors, the design head creates an integrated brief and works with both teams to deliver a seamless design.” Of course, how seamless that design is ultimately reflects in sales. 

The other big pivot hinges on the existing consumer base. “In a larger sense, styling and aesthetics have a lot to do with the consumers’ choices as well, whereas in India it’s always been about value and cost,” said Kavin Mukhtyar, PwC’s Partner and Leader, Automotive.

There are two ways that a car company can improve design, he pointed out. One is if it has global access, it can use design cues to leverage local cars. One player that is doing that is Tata Motors. Jaguar Land Rover has a lot in common on the backend with some cars — the Harrier, for one,” he said, adding, seen through the wide angle, however, the majority of the cars in India have not been very exciting, perhaps because they have been so value conscious.”

This is a notable contrast from global consumer patterns. “It is one of the important ways to compete with the rest of the world. It is the first thing a buyer looks at,” Mukhtyar said. In fact, the minute the design becomes more exciting, it gets more expensive, Suraj Ghosh, Principal Analyst — South Asia Powertrain Forecasts, IHS Markit, pointed out.

In general, “design by committee” is a problem when it comes to structures that include cars, motorcycles, aeroplanes, ships and buildings. “It’s okay to have a team of designers but if those designers have to share their inputs with those of the promoters it’s almost always a problem, because pushing back beyond a point is not viable,” Ghosh added.

The other challenge of design is that a team has to be futuristic enough to know what design will look edgy enough to come across as new, not just in the four years in which it will be rolled out but for the next decade that it is expected to be in the market.

“That’s not easy unless the team has dedicated resources and also sufficient latitude to exercise their abilities,” said automotive author Gautam Sen, who has written books on car design.

Indian companies are moving towards that direction in fits and starts. Though few and far between, there are instances of small shops starting to do work for home-grown manufacturers. An example is Studio34 whose founders include Anand Sharma, Aashish Chaudhary, Sandeep Varma and Abhijeet Bhoge. They trained at a design institute in Italy (Instituto Europeo di Design) and met at a beer house in Torino. They talked of launching an automotive design studio in India, which they did when they got back in 2010. Since then, the studio has designed several vehicles across the board for manufacturers that include Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra, Toyota, Royal Enfield, Ashok Leyland, Mercedes-Benz, Skoda and Honda. The team created the Datsun Go+ and Nissan Terrano for the 2014 Auto Expo. Other projects include accessories development for Maruti’s S-Presso and development of the electric motorcycle Revolt RV400. 

By and large, though, the industry still leans on offshore calibre for the heavy lifting. In 2014, Markus Braunsperger from BMW Germany, who was the head of the R&D division, took complete charge of Hero Motocorp’s design and development of new products. Then Tata Motors bought a majority stake in Italian design house Trilix in 2010 with a view to recreating concepts for their cars. Even the Tata Nano was done by European designer Justyn Norek, and Pierre Leblanche was roped in around 2014 to make motorcycles for Royal Enfield. He left after a couple of years.  

In present-day terms, Kia is a great case study in that it has powered its dominant position on the back of great design. The Korean manufacturer has sold more cars than other OEMs that have been here many more years, Ghosh said. The tendency for most in India is to opt for the styling route — touching up or changing form — without considering the functional aspects. “Indian manufacturers need to consider designing — and not just styling or restyling — a vehicle from ground upwards. There is a strong need to rethink the function of design and its importance in innovating and thinking out of the box,” said Sen.

The bottomline, Sen added, is that when designers are outspoken they don’t survive in the halls of corporate India but those who do may not necessarily be the best designers needed at that time for the car. “That has to change, if India is to leap ahead on design.”