The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex automotive industry body, organized its 16th Styling & Design Conclave along with 14th Automotive Design Challenge, themed on “Reimagining Mobility for the New Normal”. This year’s conclave has provided diverse perspectives on how the future of shared mobility will be for the Gen-Glass and how the passenger experience will evolve against the backdrop of various transformations happening in the auto sector. The conclave witnessed budding automotive designers showcasing the future of automobile styling in India.
The virtual conclave showcased the select top-five presentations of the Automotive Design Challenge (ADC) 2021 from design students, depicting new ideas on the future of automotive design. SIAM had initiated the challenge to provide a platform to the aspiring automobile designers to exhibit their talent and capitalize on the opportunities for future. The top-three winners of the ADC 2021 were announced during the conclave.
The conclave was graced by industry stalwarts and experts from the automotive sector, highlighting holistic and collaborative efforts of the industry players in reinventing product design and operations while pioneering design innovations of the future. The speakers shared their experiences, effective design process and emphasized on the role of design in building and sustaining brands.
In the welcome address, Rajesh Menon, Director General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturer, said “The auto sector is currently undergoing transformation on various fronts like fuel efficiency, emissions, and safety. There has been a move towards electric, autonomous, and connected vehicles. All these developments are changing the paradigm of how we design automobiles all over the world. This presents all stakeholders with an opportunity to look at new models of mobility, as we will increasingly see a major transformational change happening in the coming years.”
In the keynote address, David Carvalho, Managing Director – Link2Concept & Former Vice President – Design, Pininfarina, discussed about how emerging technology has transformed the future of mobility. “Artificial Intelligence driven mobility is managing an extra level of complexity than that by manual processes,” he said.