Benchmarking

AUTOMOTIVE SHEET METAL DESIGN

As in the initial course we have studied about what actually is the automotive plastic design and how it is implemented in the OEM’S. Now we are going to study about automotive sheet metal design i.e the main structure of the automotive on which the whole vehicle is built. This sheet metal is also called as BiW (Body in White).

Now here we are given the initial task to study what benchmarking is, which is followed by the exercise that we initially need to study and then to conclude.

• What is benchmarking?
• Benchmarking is the process in which the products, services or the components are evaluated/compared with those organizations which are known to be on the top in one or more aspects.
• In simple words it is the comparison study against the other organizations, OEM’s that how efficient their designed product is, what advance features provided and what can we improve in our design so that the sales rate will increase and can give the tougher competition in market.

So now we got an idea about what actually the benchmarking process is all about.

Based on this here comes our first challenge to do a manual benchmark process in today’s market in the field of automotive vehicles. The challenge is given as follows :-

Mr. D. S. Pughazhyendhii is a married man who lives in Bangalore which is highly crowded city. His family comprises of five members including his wife, five year old boy, father and his mother. He visits his native place Madurai which is 500 km away from Bangalore once in a month. Also he will be using his car to commute to his office. His budget falls between 8 to 10 lakhs on road. Please suggest to him with options, so that he will buy a good car for his family.

Note :- Pughazhyendhii is fond of big cars.

Now after reading and understanding the above challenge we can analyze what kind of vehicle requirements he have for his family.

So now from the above statement we as a design engineer should be able to understand the information and analyze the vehicle based on the criteria.

SELECTION CRITERIA:-

Here the criteria is based on to the following statements given in the challenge:-

So according to the statement the following features are necessary inside the vehicle :-

• Mileage:- As mentioned in the above statement, he lives in the crowded city where the mileage plays an important role in performance of vehicle. He requires the car which should have good mileage.
• Comfort and Convenience:- The second most important criteria is about the comfort and convenience. Again as mentioned in the statement that he used to visit his native place Madurai which is 500 km from Bangalore. So as he needs to travel a very long distance, he needs a vehicle which have a spacious leg room along with the head room. And also the good arrangement of the seats so that it doesn’t irritate during the journey. It also includes the sun roof and AC duct for proper ventilation.
• Safety:- It is the most important criteria when comes to vehicles. As he lives in the crowded city he too have his family with him, if somehow any wrong incident takes place so his vehicle should be strong enough to resist the side as well as the front impact. This also includes the airbags, ABS with the EBD that is Electronic brake force distribution.
• Cost :- The cost as mentioned it is 8 lakhs to 10 lakhs.

So basically to summarize the criteria we need to pick up the cars as an option for pughazhyendhii, which are best at its performance, convenient, comfortable, safe and the budget friendly vehicle.

So based on the above criteria the vehicles which we have selected are as follows:-

• Maruti Suzuki Baleno :- CVT Variant

• Mileage:- 19.56 kmpl ( may vary on highways ), Fuel petrol, Tank capacity :- 37 liters, 1197 CC engine, 81.8 BHP.
• Body:- Hatchback, 5 seater
• Comfort and convenience :-

1. Leg room, Head room
2. Adjustable head rests
3. Adjustable seating
4. Climate control system
5. Adjustable head lights

• Safety :-

1. ABS
2. Driver air bag
3. Passenger air bag
4. EBD
5. Crash sensor
6. Speed alert

• Cost :- The cost is about 8.59 to 9.49 lakhs

Cons:-

1. Remote engine start/stop
2. No infotainment system
3. Cruise control
4. Navigation system
5. Leather seats
6. Side air bags front
7. Sunroof
8. Air quality control

• Maruti Ertiga:- AMT Variant

• Mileage:- 17.99 kmpl, 1462 CC, Fuel petrol, Tank capacity 45 liters, 103.26 BHP.
• Body:- MUV, 7 seater
• Comfort and convenience:-

1. Power and adjustable steering
2. Low fuel warning indication
3. Rear seat center arm rest
4. Rear ac vents
5. Driver side and passenger side sunvisor
6. Cooled dual twin cup holder
7. Leg room, head room
8. Height adjustable seats
9. Fog lights
10. Halogens headlamps
11. Chrome plated door handles

• Safety:-

1. ABS
2. Brake assist
3. Driver and passenger air bag
4. Electronic stability control
5. EBD
6. Brake energy regeneration
7. Hill assist
8. Vehicle stability control system

• Cost:- 8.12 to 9.56 lakhs

• Cons:-

1. 360 Camera
2. Infotainment system
3. Lane watch camera
4. Rear entertainment system
5. Traction control
6. Side air bags
7. Integrated antenna

As we saw the vehicle specifications we get to know that both the cars baleno and ertiga are manufactured by same OEM so here at maximum place the material used is same in the seating, steering wheel and in the interiors.

• Hyundai Creta:- AMT Variant

• Mileage:- 16.8 kmpl ( may vary on highways ), 1353 CC, 138.08 BHP, Fuel tank 50 liters, Seating capacity 5.
• Body:- SUV
• Comfort and Convenience:-

1. Power boot
2. Automatic climate control
3. Air quality control
4. Trunk light
5. Adjustable headrests
6. Rear AC vents
7. Cup holder rear and front
8. Cruise control
9. Voice control
10. Engine start/stop button
11. 3 drive modes
12. Smart panoramic sun roof
13. Rear reclining seats
14. Electric adjustable seats
15. Ventilated seats
16. Leather door arm rest and hand rest cushions
17. Infotainment system 10.24 inches
18. 8 speakers

• Safety:-

1. 6 airbags
2. ABS with EBD
3. Power door locks
4. Engine immobilizer
5. Automatic headlights
6. Passenger seat belts reminder
7. Electro chromic mirrors
8. ESC

• Cost:- 9.99 lakhs

• Cons:-

1. Lane watch camera
2. 360 view camera
3. Emergency assistance
4. Head up display
5. Side air bag rear
6. Halogen head lamps
7. Convertible top

• Kia Seltos:- AMT Variant

• Mileage:- 18 kmpl, 1493 CC, 113.43 BHP, Tank Capacity 50 liters, 5 seater.
• Body:- SUV
• Comfort and Convenience:-

1. Power steering
2. Steering wheel gear shifting paddles
3. Adjustable head rests rear and front
4. Parking sensors rear and front
5. Foldable rear seats
6. USB charger Front and rear
7. 3 drive modes
8. Solar glass UV Cut front windshield
9. Fully automatic temperature control with silver garnish
10. Virus and bacteria protection air purifier
11. Ventilated seats
12. Adjustable seats
13. Blind spot monitor
14. 360 view camera
15. AI voice commands
16. Traction control
17. Leather seats, steering wheel, door trims
18. Head up display
19. Windows defogger

• Safety:-

1. ABS
2. Brake assist
3. Driver air bag
4. Passenger airbag
5. Side air bags
6. Traction control
7. Emergency stop signal
8. EBD
9. Pre-tensioners and force limiters seat belts
10. Seat belt warning
11. Automatic head lamps

• Cost:- 9.95 lakhs

• Cons:-

1. Cruise control
2. Lack of safety, poorly equipped base trims
3. Not great on comfort
4. Missing features
5. Lack of wide reach

Ok so well we have our best cars comparison as given above :-

By looking at the criteria we can analyze that even though the kia seltos have the best features as compared to ertiga, baleno and creta but this car is not best at its comfort level as well as the safety features.

Well if we check each and every features of the vehicles then we can never be satisfied by any one product, because there is nothing 100% perfect in designing. We will get some of the cons in every condition. Mileage, comfort and convenience may differ with different product. Well to be more precise here the tougher selection goes between kia seltos and Hyundai creta. The reason why this two were selected is because Mr. pughazhyendhii is fond of big cars and this both are compact and classy Suv’s. Moreover if we compare all this four cars we get to know that the difference between the baleno, ertiga is they have less features inbuilt while if we talk about creta and kia seltos we come to know that they are providing more features in the same price range. And talking about the current scenario each customer needs the vehicle that is loaded with automated features, comfortability, safety along with the affordable price range.

CONCLUSION :-

To conclude this comparison Mr. Pughazhyendhii should go for Hyundai creta because as we compare it with others vehicles it has more safety features, as well as the comfort and convenience too which is important for his family. And it is budget friendly car for him as all the features are available inside right from the infotainment system to the leg space at the same price range. Moreover it will be affordable for him to take it to his office/workplace.