'Vehicle designing in India should see more innovations'

Call for alliances between small & medium auto manufacturing companies in India, UK

"Right growth model should not be constrained only to small cars and it should start with public transport system, which requires right technology", said R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland. He was speaking at a UK Vehicle Design Engineering seminar, held in Chennai on Thursday.

In his inaugural address, Seshasayee said the country's economy is booming and India is on a new high. "This is happening not because US and India signed the nuclear agreement, or because the Sensex crossed the 10,000 mark. It is because hundereds and thousands of Indians started buying houses and cars," he said.

"In my opinion, the growth is hyped up. Growth has to be right, relevant and responsible. At present, growth is impacting only a part of the population and the majority is kept away from its benefits," Seshasayee said. Commercial vehicle technology is trailing behind car technology, he said.

Stressing the second point on growth being relevant, Seshasayee said that there is 'no world car or truck' as markets are different across the globe. Automobile companies that have been successful in the Indian market are those who customised their products to the tastes and needs of the Indian customers.

Elaborating on responsibilities of growth, he said that countries like India and China which are growing at a fast pace, must seriously look into factors such as degradation of environment and waste management.

"Vehicle designing should find solutions for a host of issues to be reckoned with. It is not just designing vehicles for the national market, there should be designs for regional markets as well. The vehicle used in Punjab market may not be relevant for Tamil Nadu. India is still not in the sphere of designing experimentations," he added.

Elaborating his point he said about 60 years ago the automotive industry in Chennai was triggered by UK. The setting up of Ashok Leyland base in the city has brought together many auto ancillary industries. The automotive soul is still British. There is tremendous opportunity for both the countries to grow in the automotive industry, he said.

Giving an introduction to the UK Auto design mission, Steve Martin, head of trade development, international sector group, UK Trade and Investment, said that India is a key priority market. Partnerships between small and medium auto manufacturing companies of the two countries would be of mutual benefit, he added.

Mike Connor, the British deputy high commisioner in southern India, said, "The UK is acknowledged as a world leader in auotmotive R&D with an annual turnover of over $ 2.4 billion. More than half of this represents work produced for overseas clients."