[wilful]

Automobile biggies like VW, Nissan & Skoda are using the services of Indian design firms like Mahindra Engineering Services & Defiance Technologies in and effort to cater to local requirements and tastes. Good for the Indian customer!
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/33875114.cms

[ad3952n]

Hi all, This step by foreign car companies is worth appreciating because India is a growing market for cars. We all know about the ever changing tastes of the buyers here so by incorporating designers from India it will be easier for them to assess the needs and thoughts of their prospective buyers in India. Also, they have to keep in mind that coming with a car which is not meeting the economics of the buyer is of no use; no matter how advanced it may be. So, by using the support and knowledge of these professionals they can come up with cars which appeal to the masses in every respect i.e Looks, reliability, technology and cost of maintenance in the long run.

It's a giant step for the foreign auto brands and giant leap for the Indian design firms. The product designers have added another feather to their cap.

Thanks

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[Jeroen]

Probably a smart move. India is very different is just about every way you can imagine from you're more traditional "western markets". The sooner you recognize that and adapt your products and the way you position and sell them the better.

Jeroen

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Well that's an excellent move by those guys. From this we can understand that all these manufacturers are gonna bring some local and and Made for India vehicles. And it's good for Indian guys who have studied automobile engineering. This solves another problem, employment for these guys. So, good for the "aam aadmi" and the young and budding designers from India also.

[MaxTorque]

Good move indeed. It will be mutually rewarding to both the parties. For MNCs with oversees design arms, understanding our local needs is very difficult and for them design a vehicle for a price sensitive segment will be a tough task. Our designers can do it better. In the past such things have happened but without much media attention.

A friend who was working with an Indian design firm said me that they did a considerable styling related job for Ford EcoSport. But this is the first time, a company outsourcing a whole product to an Indian company.

[nik_kapur]

It seems that Skoda wants to do a proper facelift job and not just a nip and tuck. It may seem strange that they need to outsource it, but i guess its a lot cheaper to do in India rather than have your European team do it. Also the Indian team may have some different ideas about chrome and blingy stuff that appeals to Indians.

[the_skyliner]

I don't believe any car maker will let an external engineering company "define" styling or other key design aspects of a car. This news is talking at superficial level.

In reality the work will be more of "detailed design" which means bringing designs to the stage of manufacturing and some finishing touches. Mostly, these external engineering companies will work under instructions (and decisions) of the car maker design or R & D department.

[Motard_Blr]

My understanding of the Skoda - MES deal is that only engineering services are part of it. It does not include any styling. The styling is or will be done by Skoda and given to MES. MES then uses the styling data (in CAD file format) and then converts it into manufacturing data (also in CAD file format). This data is what is used to make tooling (dies, moulds, fixtures, etc.)

While this is good news in general for Indian industry, it might not have any benefit for car stylists.

It would be nice to hear from people in this industry to get some clarity.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

I don't believe any car maker will let an external engineering company "define" styling or other key design aspects of a car. This news is talking at superficial level.

In reality the work will be more of "detailed design" which means bringing designs to the stage of manufacturing and some finishing touches. Mostly, these external engineering companies will work under instructions (and decisions) of the car maker design or R & D department.

That's exactly the fact.
Design firms are being hired to cater the OEM's short term needs where recruiting the regular employee is not beneficial to the company. And the external engineering company will work on 100% instruction from the parent OEM.

[The Observer]

Yesterday, I was speaking to a Skoda sales representative here in Bangalore regarding their ad which was for the Rapid diesel at 8.49 L ex-Show room.

I was inquiring about their finance options, etc when I casually asked him when the facelift was being launched and he immediately said "in the next 2 months sir, but it is coming with 1.5 liter engine"

I asked him again, quite surprised as i thought the facelift was only due next year ( with the new Skoda grille etc) , but he confidently said it should arrive in the next 2 months.

I searched the internet to check if there were any related news and i found one which read

"After the launch of the new Yeti, Skoda India will be bringing in the face lifted Rapid. The new Rapid will now feature the same 1.5 TDI seen under the hood of the Polo and the soon to be launched Vento."

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/s.../1/381093.html

I am not quite sure if the facelift they are talking about refers to the one expected with the new Skoda front end and updated sharper design. The 1.5 liter engine making its way into the new rapid is no surprise either .

Does anyone know about this or any related information , so the yeti is going to be followed by the launch of a face lifted rapid ? May be the Mahindra Engineering Services team completed their project quicker than expected.