[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Jokes aside, don't you think this is possible for some of the manufacturers here in India?

My guess is that some manufacturers already have systems in place to support this. If I understand correctly, the Ford Ka+ sold in UK is a Figo that is exported from India. The Ford UK site offers some options for the Ka+ which are not dealer-fitted (like Auto AC, heated front seats, rear power windows and electrically foldable mirrors). So the Ford plant in India should be able to manufacture the "customised" Ka+. I checked Baleno as well, but it seems it is not really customisable. When the Jeep Compass starts selling in the UK, it would also probably be customisable, with production in India.

[AVIS]

Reading this thread reminded me of this famous Henry Ford quote about the model T - "You can have any color as long as it's black."

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

As of now market is very limited, so companies decided to ignore. We see lot of people go ga ga over SCross 1.6 variant on this forum. What happened now? Company decided to stop its production due to low demand. I heard they also discourage customers who want to go for (O) variants of their cars.

Let's stop quoting the example of S-Cross 1.6 to highlight the aversion of the market for powerful engines. That launch was botched up by Nexa at multiple levels. I recall the posts by BHPians on those threads very well and quite a lot of them were prepared to bring home the 1.6. But three lakhs was simply too high a premium for a bigger engine for that segment and they all made peace with the 1.3.

Also, I am yet to come across a Creta Diesel 1.4. If there was no market for higher capacity engines, this wouldn't have been the case. Same for (O) variants. Most cars from Ford, Fiat etc. on road are the highest variants. So, there is most definitely a market. Maruti is just trying spin the story the way it suites them.

The situation is so sad that I am beginning to think that someone powerful at MSIL woke up on the wrong side of the bed before signing off both MJD 1.6 and Boosterjet for the Indian market. And now, it looks like they have backtracked on both these decisions. Anyways, let's get back on the topic at hand.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Hope someone from Indian OEMs read this thread and offer some basic customization in the near future. Any OEMs who have more installed capacity than the current demand can explore this option.

That's more like it.

Originally Posted by octane_100

I am sure that people who are very particular about certain features will not mind the lead time nor the incremental cost to get their perfect combination.

So True!

Originally Posted by StarrySky

So the Ford plant in India should be able to manufacture the "customised" Ka+...When the Jeep Compass starts selling in the UK, it would also probably be customisable, with production in India.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Originally Posted by AVIS

Reading this thread reminded me of this famous Henry Ford quote about the model T - "You can have any color as long as it's black."

Henry Ford said that in 1909. And it is kind of sad that our manufacturers are still holding onto that thought in varying degrees even after a century.

That quote was during the very beginning of mass production of affordable cars, probable applicable to only EVs in this day and time.

[i74js]

Barring active and passive safety features, everything else is possible through respectable third party customization, right?

We can park Dilip Chhabaria (DC Design) here if money is not a limitation. In terms of exterior customization, there are several messed up examples from him (and its way too costly), but for interiors I have kind of liked what his design centre is able to produce. This includes
- Production of an altogether new dashboard
- ICE
- Seats
- Lighting
- Interior plumbing for air-conditioning
- Sun-roof et. al. and the fit & finish is good.

A friend bought a second hand Innova for about 8 Lac (about 70k at Odo, 4 year old, previous generation) spent about 50 k on engine and 450 k with DC for complete interior change (including new dashboard). Absolutely fresh and lovely looking Innova for about 13 Lac. This included exterior paint job too.

[sandx]

Possibly car manufacturers should start a customizable variant within the list of existing variants. I know some people go for the base variants in an attempt to spruce up their rides with their own needed upgrades. Maybe there should be a separate dealer just to cater to these custom variants. Right from fog lamps to rear view cams, projector options to choice of alloys etc. It would be ideal if at least the knowledgeable consumer can make an informed decision of the features that are needed in the car. Heck, i might not even need the rear seats There may be challenges logistically with the term factory fitted not holding true in this case but i guess it will be a step towards gauging the consumer needs. I can have less of chrome for a rear parking camera.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by GTO

While some luxury car makers do offer lots of customisation options, I doubt we'll see the same water down to the mass market. Reasons:
2. Long delivery periods. Have read on USA forums that custom cars can take 4 months...sometimes 6. No customer is going to wait as long in India as everyone wants their new car NOW.

Agree with all points except 2, in USA you will walk out with a car that you want the same day you walk into the showroom. In India people specially those in big cities will wait months for a Swift or any popular ca unless they have a jugaad. Never seen anyone taking same day delivery (except for smaller cities). So I am sure waiting for a few more for a custom one will not be a hindrance as it will give them bragging rights

[kiku007]

Motor vehicles per 1000 people as per Wikipedia article based on 2015 data,

1. USA - 797
2. U.K - 519
3. Australia - 740
4. India - 167

How much longer will we have to wait for a proper car configurator in India?

Answer: How much ever longer it takes for India's cars/1000 number to even touch half the numbers of developed countries.

It's a pointless dream to compare the car scene abroad to that in India.

There's no market or scale that will encourage an Automaker to provide configurators. This holds true from Maruti to BMW. They have bigger issues to handle.

[Thermodynamics]

When MSIL introduced iCreate customisation for Brezza, I mistook it for a configurator, took a print out, went to dealer and told him build me this one.

The dealer was a small guy, he had no clue what I am taking about. Maybe because iCreate was quite new. I said him this is a configurator, check with your authorities. Look, I am specifying alloys beforehand via iCreate so I do not have to deal with the stock steels.

He did some phone calls and politely replied, Sir, this is just a visualisation app for you to keep dreaming how it may look and buy our accessories. Your steels will be handed over to you, they are yours .

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by i74js

Barring active and passive safety features, everything else is possible through respectable third party customization, right?

What about engines? Say a choice between 1.3 L and 1.6 L for the S-Cross? Or transmission choice: MT vs. AT for most cars? Or simple things like wash wipe, better seats, ICE which are fitted at the factory or even OE wheels where you don't have to bother about PCD or hubcaps. No DC can match that! And I really don't like my brand new car to be stripped apart by any third party.

Originally Posted by kiku007

Motor vehicles per 1000 people as per Wikipedia article based on 2015 data,

1. USA - 797
2. U.K - 519
3. Australia - 740
4. India - 167

How much longer will we have to wait for a proper car configurator in India?

Answer: How much ever longer it takes for India's cars/1000 number to even touch half the numbers of developed countries.

Sorry! Given India' high population, that's simply a very wrong metric to look at.

Let's look at the monthly sales of passenger cars instead. Something which really matters for the manufacturers and a stat which ideally brings out the scale of the market.

That tells me Indian market should have got a configurator many years back. And mind you, the sales are growing each year and this was 2015.

World Top 20 Markets in 2015 (September)


worldwide-automotive-industry-sales-trends-top-sellers-challenges

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Sorry! Given India' high population, that's simply a very wrong metric to look at.

Let's look at the monthly sales of passenger cars instead. Something which really matters for the manufacturers and a stat which ideally brings out the scale of the market.

That tells me Indian market should have got a configurator many years back. And mind you, the sales are growing each year and this was 2015.

And the reason why you have not got a configurator so far is because, well you are basing your assumption on a wrong metric, which is gross sales

If annual sales is what you are basing your expectations on then India should have a really vibrant choices of automobiles to choose from. Is that the case?

Scale doesn't come from selling 3 million cars to 1300 million people.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by kiku007

If annual sales is what you are basing your expectations on then India should have a really vibrant choices of automobiles to choose from. Is that the case?

Scale doesn't come from selling 3 million cars to 1300 million people.

No sure why we are still hung up on the total population as a metric to understand whether the market is ready or not.

Yes, I totally agree that the choice in our market is very limited even now. But that is improving every now and then.

Coming back to the topic at hand, I will urge you to read that beautiful post by BHPian androdev on page 1 of this very thread.

Or the story on this link below. Maybe both.

The Bata shoes story: Is the glass half full, or half empty? It depends on how good you are at looking.

[kiku007]

@deetjohn - Your OP asked how long it will take and I have given the reason. Time will validate it Happy waiting.