Renault which opened a design studio in India had announced a design competetion called ‘IndDesign’ in August 2007. The contest theme, “What is Modern India Design?” was open to only Indian students. As many as 77 students from 12 institutes took part in the contest. Renault has just announced the winners of its Auto Design Competition. The winners were offered internships at Renault Design India Centre in Mumbai. The jury to select the winners included Patrick Le-Quement, Senior Vice President, Corporate Design, Renault, Mel Nichols, Editorial Director of Haymarket Media in the U.K., Dilip Chhabria, Chairman and MD , DC Design, Patrick Lecharpy, Director, Advanced Design, Renault, Ritu Kumar, fashion designer and Managing Director, Ritika Private Limited, and Sangita Shroff, Director, Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Jaipur. The competetion helped Renault DeSign to discover and develop design potential and talent across India. “Along with other global manufacturers who are in the process of setting up design studios in India, we want to better understand and respond to the needs of the Indian market and customers. Increasingly Indian carmakers are also setting up and/or developing their own facilities that rely less on European consultancies, as they previously did,” Renault said.
India in global radar:
Similar to Renault other major manufacturers are now testing waters with engineering and design schools in the country through design contests, diploma projects and interactions in the hope of capitalising on innovative designs coming out of Indian campuses.Italian design house Pininfarina, which designs cars like Ferrari, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo, took the first step towards Indian designs when it signed a statement of intent to pursue collaborative automobile design activities with Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design. A year into the agreement, the company is keen on establishing a ‘global design hub’ in India in the next couple of years, where Indian students would be absorbed for the venture. Similarly, Mahindra and Mahindra’s design competition for students called ‘K. C Mahindra Award for Excellence’ in automotive design, has identified three innovative student designs on the theme ‘Long Haul Truck Cabin for the year 2015’. Hyundai, General Motors and Suzuki have also expressed their intentions to use Indian shores as a base for design development.