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Background: The Indian automobile industry, including the auto component industry, is a significant part of the country’s economy and has experienced growth over the years. India is now the world’s 3rd largest passenger car market and the world’s second-largest two-wheeler market. Along with the boon, the bane of road accident fatalities is also a reality that needs urgent attention, as per a study titled ‘Estimation of Socio-Economic Loss due to Road Traffic Accidents in India’, the socio-economic loss due to road accidents is estimated to be around 0.55% to 1.35% of India’s GDP [27] Ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) accident data shows that the total number of fatalities on the road are the highest (in number terms) in the world. Though passenger car occupant fatalities have decreased over the years, the fatalities of vulnerable road users are showing an increasing trend. India has committed to reduce road fatalities by 50% by 2030.

Cabin Air quality is the measure of quality of air within the vehicle. Cabin air quality is not just important for comfort but for safety as well [1]. For decades, scientists have studied the air quality outside of automobiles. The in-cabin microenvironment has become a significant source of exposure to numerous air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, etc. [4]. There are various physical parameters such as filters, cabin temperature, air exchange rate, A/C ON or OFF condition and direction of flow of air inside the vehicle cabin, which can affect the cabin air quality and purification time. The air exchange and its rate being of highest importance [2]. The paper consists of various experimental results to check the effect of these parameters in improving the cabin air quality.

Fun to drive, pick-up of vehicle, high acceleration feeling of vehicle, time to reach max velocities are some parameters prevailing in the passenger vehicle market. In addition to focusing on information about fuel economy declared by manufacturer, the customer also has drivability related criteria in his mind. Although drivability is subjective, it can be judged by using various parameters like maximum speed, pick-up feeling, overtaking acceleration, time to reach 0 – 100 km/h or 0 – 60 km/h, etc. While comparing two vehicles of the same segment, one vehicle may perform better on some of the parameters while losses on others. To decide overall drive performance of a vehicle based on various measured performance related parameters, a methodology is defined. This will help to understand the overall performance of a vehicle holistically and to compare its performance with other vehicles in a better way.

With advancement of technologies, upgradation of validation procedures and equipment on engine dynamometer test bed is required to simulate environment similar to vehicle and achieve accurate test results. A coolant conditioning system helps in achieving desired temperatures of coolant in the circuit during engine validation. However, unlike radiator type cooling systems of vehicles, conventional coolant conditioning systems on engine test beds generate negative pressure in circuit which poses a risk of coolant boiling, loss of intended heat transfer and hence higher temperature in cylinder head which can be detrimental for durability of critical components like valves, valve seats etc. This paper encompasses a stepwise approach followed to attain near-vehicle coolant pressure conditions for a naturally aspirated engine. Coolant used for this experiment was 50:50 (by volume) ethylene glycol and water mixture.

With introduction of CAFÉ norms in India from Apr’17, the manufacturer of all M1 Category vehicles (not exceeding 3,500kg GVW) has to ascertain that they comply with Annual Corporate Average CO2 Target as defined in AIS-137 regulation which is becoming stricter in future. Hence CO2 emissions are becoming one of the major focus parameters during vehicle development. The assessment of CAFÉ compliance involves multiple steps. Firstly, test agency provides Type Approval and Conformity of Production emission test reports to the Designated Agency. Accordingly, every manufacturer submits Fuel consumption report/Passbook to the Designated Agency on annual basis. After verification of all data, the Designated Agency issues a status of compliance to the Manufacturer. Such detailed assessment protocol presents a huge challenge for any manufacturer in maintaining the consistency/accuracy of CO2 produced by manufactured vehicles within the Type Approved Limit.

With strict upcoming regulation norms, it becomes a challenging task for automotive industry to develop highly efficient engine that meets all the regulation requirements. The focus of automakers is to utilize fuel energy in most efficient way and to reduce the energy loss from the engine to improve thermal efficiency. Heat loss to the cooling medium is one of the prime losses inside the combustion chamber. Thermal barrier coating is used to reduce heat losses across combustion chamber surfaces (Piston, head, valves and cylinder liner) as it provides good insulation because of the prominent properties of coating materials like low thermal conductivity, low heat capacity, high melting point etc. This paper presents application and impact of thermal swing coating on thermal efficiency. Thermal swing coating material follows gas temperature quickly throughout the cycle which reduces the temperature difference between gas and coating surface and thus reduces the heat loss.

Hood is the closure provided in the frontal portion of the vehicle for covering the engine room. Any component disposed in the frontal portion of the vehicle becomes important because of aesthetic as well as regulatory requirements. Introduction of new regulations like pedestrian protection brings new challenges for the original equipment manufacturers and the governing authorities. Introduction of Pedestrian Protection regulation, a recent development in the automotive industry, has thrown several questions in front of original equipment manufacturers. This work explains the procedure to address such question and the learning associated with it.

Bumper opening area projected on condenser to total condenser core area is referred to as condenser opening area. The condenser opening area plays a vital role in A/C Performance of vehicle particularly during idling and initial cooling of vehicle. This paper presents detail study on effects of condenser opening area on A/C performance. Based on theory, the effect of condenser opening area is studied and it is validated by experimental results. Depending on these results an optimum value of condenser opening area required for best A/C performance is concluded.

Energy dissipation testing of vehicle's interior fitments is done at various defined locations as per the regulation ECE R21. Interior fitting impact tests became mandatory in April 2006 for models manufactured from April 2006 and April 2007 for models being manufactured before April 2006 in India. With the implementation of stringent safety regulations in India, it is mandatory that every manufacturer tests and certifies their product to comply with the automotive safety standards. Automotive industry has a challenging task of designing and evaluating the components that play a vital role in the event of an unfortunate accident. In this context, a number of tests on safety belt anchorages, seat anchorages and interior fittings such as instrument panel, steering wheel etc., are conducted.

The field of Passive Safety is of primary focus for the automobile manufacturers. Number of changes has been incorporated in today’s passenger car, which not only protects its occupants but also other road users. This revolutionary change in technology calls for new development in evaluation procedures. Crash testing of vehicles is one such massive field of research. The nature and cost of these tests increases the need for better measurement techniques. High speed cameras are often used in the crash tests and image processing is done to study the deformation characteristics, dummy kinematics and steering wheel displacements. This paper discusses the effect of key factors like Camera positioning and 2D Calibration on the analysis of high speed images. The paper also discusses the experimental evaluation carried out to validate the same.