India Vehicle Design Summit 2014 announced for April

The India Vehicle Design Summit 2014 will be the first in its history to focus exclusively on the ‘design and styling' of commercial and passenger vehicles.

Taking place at The Corinthians Resort and Club in Pune from 24-25 April, the summit will feature speakers from brands including Jaguar, Ferrari and McLaren and industry experts from companies such as Volvo, GM and Tata as well as institutions such as the National Institute of Design in India and London's Royal College of Arts.

Confirmed speakers include Volvo China's chief designer Gustavo Guerra, renowned designer Peter Stevens and Anil Saiini, director of design at GM India.

The conference aims to explore how to, among other things: formulate a design strategy and process for world-class designing; 
improve upon car design techniques with impact on an individual's own design process; and design robust and rugged vehicles for specific terrain.

Within newly emerging markets the role of a vehicle designer is also changing. One session will be dedicated to exploring this transformation.

Balaji Rengrajan, senior faculty, National Institute of Design, India, will explore how far Indian car design has come and how its strengths compare with the Western carmakers, as well as predicting future trends.

By Rufus Thompson