People's car taking shape at NID

Rs 1 lakh car being designed for unknown customer.

Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design (NID) is designing India's smallest and cheapest four-seater compact car for a customer that is not willing to reveal itself. All that is known is that it is a client of Pune-based engineering company Conex AvioAuto Private Ltd.

"This is India's smallest car which will cost around Rs 1 lakh. It will run on both petrol as well as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and will revolutionise the Indian car market with its unique design and technology," Pradyumna Vyas, principal designer, NID, told Business Standard.

Avinash Belgamwar, managing director of Conex AvioAuto, added, "We had given the project to NID for designing a small car as it is a pioneer in design. The company is evaluating the market viability of the car and has plans to hit the market with the new car within two years." When asked about the client, Belgamwar declined to comment and said it was too early to reveal the name.

Explaining the design of the car, Vyas said the air-cooled engine of the car was located at the rear, while the boot was in the front. It has a sliding door to help the driver come out easily at crowded and narrow parking spaces. The car will have a fuel efficiency of 25 km per litre.

The car was designed by two NID students, Abhinav Tiwari and Amit Patankar, who are doing the final diploma project sponsored by Conex AvioAuto.

Vyas said the car was targeted at young professionals and small families. It will be positioned as the ideal option for anybody who wants to upgrade from a two-wheeler to a car but has a small budget.

He added that NID, while designing the next-generation car, had ensured that the final product should fulfill the demands of new technology and the future trends in the automobile industry, while catering to the changing lifestyles of people.

"We have also ensured high safety and have designed the car according to the latest safety standards," Vyas said.

Darlie O Koshy, executive director of NID, said, "NID is a pioneer in designing and this year, we have a special focus on car designing."

Talking about NID's focus on new avenues in designing, Koshy said the institute was concentrating on animation, computer game designs, automobiles and jewellery, as these segments needed more experiments with designs.