Auto majors scout for Indian design acumen

The success of indigenous designs at the recently concluded Auto Expo at New Delhi was a good enough indicator of India turning into a hub for auto designs.

Taking the confidence in homegrown designs further, a number of automobile majors are now testing waters in various engineering and design schools of the country through design contests, diploma projects and interactions to discover innovative designs.

Italian design house Pininfarina, which designs cars like Ferrari, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo, took the first step towards Indian designs when it signed a statement of intent to pursue collaborative automobile design activities with Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design (NID).

A year into the agreement, the company is keen on establishing a 'global design hub' in India in the next couple of years, where Indian students would be absorbed for the venture.

Similarly, M&M's design competition for students called 'KC Mahindra Award for Excellence' has identified three innovative student designs on the theme 'Long Haul Truck Cabin for the year 2015'.

Arun Jaura, senior vice-president, (R&D and Global Product Development), M&M, said the winning designs would be institutionalised with the company and used in bits and pieces for its upcoming offerings.

"We would definitely be harnessing academic institutions and are keen to pick up students for our new research valley at Chennai," said Jaura.

Following interactions, three students from NID had been picked up by Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo for a six-month internship. M&M has also picked up winners of its design contests in the last few years.

Last year, Renault Design India launched a competition called 'Indesign' in partnership with Autocar magazine to turn the spotlight on Indian design. The venture is expected to bring more development projects to India.