[rajivanoj]

As mobile phone manufacturers have agreed upon making universal chargers for all their mobile phones manufactured, to reduce costs and save environment by not manufacturing different types of chargers for different models.

Why cant auto manufacturers join hands to make universal parts atleast to an extent, which can save costs for them and the customers too, when replacing parts.

I have used
premier 137D diesel filter for Toyota 1N diesel engine
used contessa speedo cable for 1N gear box to esteem dashboard
used mitsubishi canters clutch slave kit for toyota 1N clutch slave
used Maruti 800 thermostat switch for lancer (though with slight alteration)


By this way There is possibility to make universal parts of
valve door cover
radiator cap
oil filter
fuel filter
accelerator cable
oil pouring cap
radiator fans etc.

I know its not possible to make suit all parts, but atleast bargain parts from other manufacturer, so the cost comes down. also it is not possible to make universal parts for exterior.

[greenhorn]

A lot of parts are swappable among the indica family ( i know because I've swapped em)

Guess its similar for most maruti hatches as well

[DRC]

This is not anything new. Lot of parts are standardized. But there is always a percentage which makes the car unique.
All third party sourced parts like Oil filters, batteries, Tyres, lightings, break pads, wiper blades, alternators, radiators, belts, hoses etc... are standard parts.

And, this percentage of standard parts are increasing steadily as regulatory standards are increasing.

[McLaren Rulez]

Good point actually. There are many things in cars that can be made common across the board irrespective of manufacturer. Hopefully we see something like this happening soon.

[rajivanoj]

Yes, i agree with you, most parts in Tata are swappable, same , in the case of maruti, but we know it is sharing common parts, if the manufacturer prints in the packing that this can be fitted to so and so cars, the it will be easy for buyer when replacing it, and he can also make sure he is not overcharged according to the brand of car he owns.

Actually in most spares shop they fix the charge according to the cars, for example, if we assume an radiator cap is same for accent and alto, the normal consumer dont know its same part, but if he asks in shop for alto, he will charge less, if he asks for accent, then he may charge slightly high. But this happens in few shops.

[Manas]

Originally Posted by rajivanoj

As mobile phone manufacturers have agreed upon making universal chargers for all their mobile phones manufactured, to reduce costs and save environment by not manufacturing different types of chargers for different models.

Why cant auto manufacturers join hands to make universal parts atleast to an extent, which can save costs for them and the customers too, when replacing parts.

My 2 pence : Automobile manufacturers earn a sizeable amount of their revenue from spare sales. It is highly unlikely that they'd go for commonization across companies. e.g. MGP's revenues for MSIL as after sales spares is quite big as compared to net earning from actual car sales.
A Mobile charger is not a recurring cost for the end user. The spares' cost, however, is. Therefore, there will be a demand from the customers which the companies would want to tap into.

[mithun]

A CALL FOR OEM PARTS STANDARDIZATION

[GTO]

Whenever any manufacturer undertakes a cost cutting initiative, the first thing that pops up on the list is : Parts sharing. I read somewhere that Mercedes had 40 - 50 different types of door opening levers! Who's the king of part sharing in India? Maruti. Engines, transmissions, interior bits, switches, etc. etc. Combine that with the most volumes (40+% market share) and you know why their cars are so value priced. And the company is so profitable!

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by GTO

Who's the king of part sharing in India? Maruti. Engines, transmissions, interior bits, switches, etc. etc.

They got that from Tata.

[Trust_In_Thrust]

To me sharing parts does not appear to be feasible .
Some said here making oil filter same.Well technically it is not possible
1.) Different engines have different engine design .
2.)Different engines will require different oil pressure .
3.) Different engines will put different type of load on engine oil .So may be 1 Ltr honda will require less oil to be pumped in each cycle compared to say some ineffiecient 1 ltr engine .This automatically means over a service period the oil filter will face different loads.

Also regarding many other/ well almost all parts used in cars across platforms things are different since each car imposed its own set of technical limitations .
Regarding Maruti i would say it is like HHonda same 2-3 engines making up the entire line up with different pieces .Also i would not say Maruti are value priced .More or less they are at par with what other manufacturers have priced .Inspite of sharing so many parts they are still expensive in Maruti.

@greenhorn : Agreed accent radiator cap can fit alto and vice versa .But do you think if they can fit they are right .What i know when radiator caps are designed it is seen what is burst test pressure of radiator , cooling system in case of overheating .Now this will depend on quality of head gasket (remember most cars have different designs, notch distance ), quality of aluminium, copper used in radiator , rubber hoses etc .Hence forth you may/can fit the caps vice versa but in absence of above mentioned technical parameters you can end up with a breakdown in a vehicle.

Just my thoughts.

[SS-Traveller]

I like to classify car parts as critical and non-critical. Critical parts are those that are detrimental to the functioning of the car, such as engine components, radiator, bearings, gearbox components, etc. Non-critical parts are those that do not contribute to the reliable running of a car, and include things like door handles and locks, lamps, oil and fuel filler caps, seats and their mountings, etc.

IMO it should be the non-critical parts that can come out of an universal parts bin first, before considering having a common pool of critical parts. The critical parts are what build or break the reputation of the manufacturer, and they should be allowed to produce their own components to maintain the quality of their own cars.

As to common parts across the range of a single manufacturer's product lineup, the choice as regards the critical parts is best left to the manufacturers themselves. For non-critical parts, a universal parts bin would go a long way to provide the best VFM for the consumer like us.

[Trust_In_Thrust]

Even when we see non critical parts .There are issues;
1.)Door Handles : It is a design consideration so will be different.Again pricing of car so different materials for the handle .This hold true for both internal and external.
2.)Locks : Just see the type of kesy we have in market .The more sophisticated the lock the better will be the key .It is a guard against safety .Also a person a higher price would desire a better looking car key.Also when do the key really fail?(Probability is really low)
3.)Lamps ; By lamps you mean i believe the indoors lamps, puddle lamps etc.The issue here different cabins need different amount of light so heat generated , light reflectivity will be different for different cabins .Even for puddle lamps one manufacturer will offer better dispersion of light vs other .So one save money & other does not.
4.)Oil : It will depend on tolernace level of engine internals.
5.)Seats ; Again same seat would mean same seating comfort to a level .Why would we want that .In the end when we buy a different car on same platform this would be really noticeable.
6.)Montings(of seat i guess) ; Again is dependent on seat meachanicals like number of mount points , breaking ability of vehicle , collision protection , underlying sheet metlas strength etc.

I would again like to by having same components critical or non critical we need to understand what went in their designing , tolerance test , life test , failure limits etc.So even a screw may seen the same but i see the thread limit , shear limit , thread breaking tolerance , torque limits will be different .So we should not expect a 10 number screw one used in Maruti will work perfectly in say a Safari .(It may work but it will loosen before time due to higher stress etc )


Also i strongly believe sharing components on a platform but limited is fine like say New Estilo , astar , Old Estilo and Wagon R but i think that is it .Is there really any difference in these cars ?

Now compare this to say Punto Vs Palio MJD . Same engine but even the ECU , oil filters etc are different , the engine internals due to the 15 K service interval .


Note : I am all for similar parts but it needs huge arrangement between car designers, engineers etc. Something not possible and not feasible in my opinion.

[sgiitk]

We are getting some standardisation. FIAT multijet everywhere, as if there is no other small diesel engine. I am sure some degree of standardization is possible in brake discs, pads etc. A lot of it goes unnoticed - tyres, wheel sizes, lubes (who buys xGO today?).

Also, some cars like Logan have the same door mirrors left and right - again to reduce cost.

[amitk26]

Well Idea is good and Nobel but needs to be forced upon by some strong regulatory body.
As the thread originated from Mobiles let me tell you a fact , mobile manufacturers have not agreed by themselves this generosity of agreement is under the pressure from EU to save environment.

Being from Mobile Industry and working for company notorious for introducing new charger with every model and release maximum number of models.Let me tell you one thing a simple thing such as a charger and connectivity cable was a big money spinner. Usually Operators subsidize the phones and sell for 1$ or 1 euro under a contract.
Customers then go and buy "kits" for this free mobile which contains a leather strap ,case , Extra battery , Charger , data cable, car kit , Synch Software etc.
Changing the pin layout of data cable and charging pins was a + revenue generator both for operators and manufacturers. Any money however miniscule it is is always welcome by business minds.

Nokia was an exception because large part of Nokia sales is from open market and not operator driven market so that have to gain goodwill of end user.

Same is the case of car manufacturers.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Being from Mobile Industry and working for company notorious for introducing new charger with every model and release maximum number of models.Let me tell you one thing a simple thing such as a charger and connectivity cable was a big money spinner. Usually Operators subsidize the phones and sell for 1$ or 1 euro under a contract.
Customers then go and buy "kits" for this free mobile which contains a leather strap ,case , Extra battery , Charger , data cable, car kit , Synch Software etc.

They will make their money in another 'greener' way. The charger in the new universal format will be 'extra'. Most phones (other than bundles) come with a charger. Wait and see.