Made for India : How some foreign car manufacturers have adapted their cars for India

[Mustang.101]

I thought that we guys should discuss modifications that foreign car manufacturers have specifically made to suit the requirements of the Indian public.

Please make sure that you do not mention any cost cutting modifications but rather modifications that the manufacturers have made to comply with the demands of the Indian customer.

I have 2 examples:

1. Ford Ikon & Ford Fiesta Classic: Extra wide front doors so that it benefits Indian women who wear sarees, but this also led to a rise in cost of the front door, More metal, more cost .

2. Fiat Linea : My relative works in Fiat so he told me that the back rest of the back seat of the Linea has been made more steeper to achieve the boot space of 500 Liters. That's why most of the people including the mods said in the team-bhp fiat Linea test drive & review that headroom was a bit too tight on the Linea.

[mmxylorider]

Expanding this to bikes, I guess the 'saree guard' is self explanatory!

[volkman10]

When Logan was introduced, Renault was asked to change the horn as the decibels on the orinigal were low for Indian driving conditions!

Cheers!

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by volkman10

When Logan was introduced, Renault was asked to change the horn as the decibles on the orinigal were low for Indian driving conditions!

Cheers!

This was the case with the polo as well, i saw it on some TV show.

[sam_sant2005]

1) Power reduction in cars launched in India. For eg: Punto 90bhp in India and some 120-130bhp in Europe! Basically tuning down power for want of more mileage. Another is the classic example of RD350 !!!

2) Poorer Quality. Since people of India can be done with a lesser quality vehicle, Im sure manufacturers are doing that. Eg from bike world is the RE 500 itself. One's in India are not matching the standards.

3) Security features. Many of the cars which sell abroad with airbags and abs ebd as standard dont have it here as a 'standard' option.

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by sam_sant2005

1) Power reduction in cars launched in India. For eg: Punto 90bhp in India and some 120-130bhp in Europe! Basically tuning down power for want of more mileage. Another is the classic example of RD350 !!!

2) Poorer Quality. Since people of India can be done with a lesser quality vehicle, Im sure manufacturers are doing that. Eg from bike world is the RE 500 itself. One's in India are not matching the standards.

3) Security features. Many of the cars which sell abroad with airbags and abs ebd as standard dont have it here as a 'standard' option.

You are missing the point here, the power reduction is true but others are mere cost cutting measures.

[ACM]

1) The Feature of adjusting / sliding the VW Vento front passenger seat forward and backward from the rear seat though a long lever that comes right behind the front seat is said to be specifically for the Indian Audience.

2) Though we are talking about foreign manufacturers, we must note that Everything that TATA and Mahindra do to their cars (including the seating, engine power, feature set and form factor) is primarily for the Indian Audience, since they sell mainly in India. So in many ways the Indian audience as per surveys would want what they make (if only they get the quality and reliability right.)

3) The toyota Etios rear bench space, the Boot space and in many ways the entire car is more or less designed to meet the Indian audience.

4) Suzuki Swift Dzire bolt on boot on the Swift making for the run away success Swift Dzire too was to meet the Indian market.

5) Suzuki SX4 diesel too is targetted at the Indian Audience.

6) Many of the Maruti and Hyundai redesigns have been aimed at extending the life of their vehicles in India while they have been phased out in the rest of the world. Even the Esteem, M800, Alto and Santro recieved many such refresh editions ranging from lights, to bumpers to engines purely for the Indian market.

Am not really sure of a couple of the above for sure, so someone could actually share contrary details.

[mmxylorider]

Ground Clearance has to be significant to cater to bad roads and improper speed breakers.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by ACM

1) The Feature of adjusting / sliding the VW Vento front passenger seat forward and backward from the rear seat though a long lever that comes right behind the front seat is said to be specifically for the Indian Audience.

3) The toyota Etios rear bench space, the Boot space and in many ways the entire car is more or less designed to meet the Indian audience.

Isn't Etios an Indian model and has not a Global platform. Thought the thread is for changes done to the Indian version when launched here.

[ACM]

Yep Volkman that is a very true observation, it is a fine line and the etios is designed mainly for India though we can be sure they will take it global when they are able to in time.

BTW: Suggest that next time you delete the parts of the post that you quote that are not related to the specific reponse as it is more convenient for viewing on low bandwidth PC and small size screens. - just one of the rules of the forum.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Mustang.101

1. Ford Ikon & Ford Fiesta Classic: Extra wide front doors so that it benefits Indian women who wear sarees, but this also led to a rise in cost of the front door, More metal, more cost ..

The F.door would be identical to the hatchback cousins sold in Europe. would it not?

[noopster]

The VW Vento manual clearly states that for India the intervals for changing certain components (air filter for example) is more frequent than for the rest. Shameful indictment of our air quality and fuel quality, I'd say!

The horn is apparently significantly louder than what's used in Europe I hear. Also that silly lever thingy to push the seat forward- it's typical that something so trite wuld be perceived as having great fans in this country!

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by Mpower

The F.door would be identical to the hatchback cousins sold in Europe. would it not?

Nope, both these cars were modified to suit the indian requirements, The new fiesta however is a global platform and hence door length would be similar in every country.

[Gandhi]

i10 manufactured for Europe has 14 inch wheels with wider tyres, whereas the India version comes with 13 inch wheels just to cater to Indian mentality of better mileage. Note that both the cars are manufactured in same factory.

[xingamazon]

1. Attaching a boot to otherwise a hatch in rest of the world is something that happens for India specific vehicles.
2. Toyota corolla Diesel, a reengineering of a global run away success model to suit Indian needs.
3. Not sure if this is Figo or Ikon, I remember hearing that there is a dog bar in the car specifically made for dogs running around in the country.