Kwid Pro Quo: Can India teach America to build a nice CUV for $7,000?

摘要

The developed world has called the automotive shots for a century-plus, but many of its biggest players are stumbling when attempting to serve the developing world. They find that low-income connected buyers don't want stripped-down first-world cars. They'll accept minimalism where it doesn't show, but they want to look at screens and see pleasing design. They demand solutions that have been "frugally engineered" for them. The "frugal engineering" gospel is preached by the Chennai, India-based digital tech services provider Hinduja Tech. I first learned of this company during a live broadcast of Autoline Detroit featuring "lean design" guru Sandy Munro. He was ostensibly there to discuss his company's teardown and cost analysis of the Tesla Model 3, but he mentioned he had a Renault crossover in his shop that sells in India for $6,671, and his first-world clients all mistook it for a $12,000 car. After the show, I begged to see it, and Sandy invited me to meet the Hinduja team that helped engineer it.