Auto Modification is a Nascent Industry
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Sitting comfortably with a client while doing cost estimates for his next project, Arush Vohra browses through pictures of customised cars on his computer. Impressed with the jazzy mean machines, the customer enquires about add-on costs should a new music system also be installed in the vehicle he wants modified. After a brief chat, he leaves with Vohra's business card in his white Honda Civic.
Vohra, an auto modifier, has just managed to impress and get a new client whose car he will now be doing up. The vehicle will soon be in his workshop for modifications and be customised as per the client's directions.
A graduate in automotive technology from Western Michigan University in the US, Vohra joined his father's workshop in Karol Bagh, Delhi, in 2001 before he could tap into his creative instincts.
"In India, this (auto modification) is a nascent industry and people who get into this business do so as an extension of the car workshop," says Vohra.
Though Vohra has studied engineering, there are others who take up the profession after studying design such as Dilip Chhabria, a veteran in the field, who studied at the Art Center College of Design in California. Ideally, one ought to have the knowledge, of or at least the knack for both engineering and design to ace the field of auto modification (better known as customisation).
"Most of the modifiers understand the manufacturing aspects but lack creative skills. You need to be in the thick of things where both are concerned," says Amit Paul, the founder of Design Edge, which designs four and two-wheelers for automakers.
Dealing with the customer is a big challenge. "Sometimes we suggest that only a few changes be made in the car but when the customer wants more, we don't push further. After all, a satisfied client is what matters to us the most," adds Vohra. The "ideal" clients, however, are those who give him a free hand. "If you are asked to change the shape and interiors of a car, then there is wider scope to execute your creative abilities," he says.
Another challenge is to modify good-looking cars like the Hyundai i20, Maruti Swift or Honda City. "One should be trained to modify all kinds of cars from an Ambassador to a BMW. Currently I am working on a dream project - a Mitsubishi GTO, which is my own car and I want to improvise its looks to bring it at par with a supercar such as a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. The project will cost me around R20 lakh," he says.
Convincing the client to buy a package is also a difficult task because most of them find the prices quite exorbitant. "A car bumper which can be bought for R2,000 at a company showroom would be sold at our workshop for around R10,000 to R12000 because we don't produce them in large numbers as companies does. There is no limit to how much you can spend on a car. At a TV show for Discover Travel and Living (Now TLC), we designed an Ambassador car where we spent R6lakh just on the dashboard," he adds.
But does this mean that the profession pays a lot of money? Not everyone agrees. "The growth is slow because car customisation is not mandatory. Not everyone wants to spend money over and above its actual price," says Yatharth Das, proprietor, Performance Zone.
Author: Vimal Chander Joshi (HT Horizons)
Date: 19th October, 2010
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