I Hundreds of cars have been launched in the last two decades. Usually, it is always the same scholar. Some song and dance, some models and a velvet cover were removed dramatically enough to set a fit under flashing lights. And then you come to the name. Sometimes we already know this along with the car’s features, and sometimes we don’t. But there is a reason why this particular launch is still traced to my memory.
Several years ago, at the biennial Auto Expo at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on National Press Day, a group of journalists gathered towards the hall displaying the Czech carmaker Skoda Auto. The management seemed quite happy with themselves – after all, they were going to launch the second generation Octavia sedan in India in a matter of minutes. But since koda decided to continue manufacturing the older Octavia, their latest offering needed a new name. The car was named ‘Laura’. There was silence in the hall. The only sound was the click-clack of the photographers’ cameras.
Then, as someone pressed the play button, suddenly bursts of laughter and extremely inappropriate jokes started ringing around. Skoda Auto itself did this. In case you don’t understand, ‘laura’ is similar to Hindi/Punjabi slang for the male genital. Even the most professional automotive journalists and photographers, 20-something like me at the time, were nodding their heads. “Who carried this name in the past?” I remember saying one of them.
But this phenomenon is traced not only in my memory. The entire Indian automotive industry, including the new management at koda, remembers this and feels that car names can be horribly wrong. The Laura still performed well, in fact, it was a really good car, but when the third generation Octavia arrived, Skoda India reverted to the original name.
Not every car maker is as lucky as German luxury brands. The seven generations of the BMW 3-Series are called the ‘3-Series’ and remain the same for the seven generations. Mercedes-Benz C-Class, although the first was technically ‘190E’. In fact, one way to know if your significant other is a ‘car nerd’ is if they refer to a BMW as an E90, F30 or G20. These are all internal codes for different generations of the BMW 3-series, the G20 being the current model.
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names can come from anywhere
Today names are considered very early in the design process, sometimes long before the car’s design is finalized. A few months back, as Skoda was about to launch its new sedan, the Slavia, I spoke to Zack Hollis, Director, Skoda Auto India, about how the Slavia was chosen as the name of the new sedan and the process that goes into naming a car. Is. In fact, the name ‘Slavia’ is actually derived from the Czech carmaker’s non-motorized history. One of its predecessor companies was named ‘Slavia Cycles’. Furthermore, ‘Slavia’ not only delves into the Slavic nature of the Czechs, but also means ‘victory’ – in keeping with koda’s naming convention for sedans, which is always European and feminine.
However, the names of the cars don’t really mean anything in every market that they are sold. Take for example the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. Executive Director Shashank Srivastava explains that the name literally means ‘three-row’ in Bahasa – the primary language in the Indonesian archipelago. “It just sounded cool, so we stuck with it for India as well, and consumers appreciated the name.” However, he also added that the naming process often begins several years before launch: “If it’s an India-led product, we have a committee here and we shortlist the names and send them to headquarters and they’re going to make a difference.” make shortlists and send it to others. Markets too.”
Then come the lawyer, because not every name is available in every market. For example, a car sold as Maruti Ritz in India was actually a Suzuki Splash in most global markets, but was already registered as a ‘Splash’ by Bajaj Auto in India. While Maruti could technically launch a car with the same name, they decided not to do so. Thus the name ‘Ritz’, which if you know its luxury hotel chains, was derived from ‘Ritz Carlton’. While this is a rare occurrence nowadays, as the car market is global, cars sold in India used to have different names for the same product abroad. like Hyundai SantroWhose name is actually a portmanteau of a small resort town on the French Riviera.
Not just lawyers, most car companies employ teams of linguists to go through all the possible meanings of names, not only in India but around the world, in order to avoid a repetition of the ‘Laura incident’. This is the reason why carmakers come up with obscure, yet non-controversial names like Maruti Suzuki Celerio. Other names are repeated. The car, called the Maruti Esteem by Indians, was sold overseas as the Suzuki Swift, and the original Baleno was a large sedan. Now both of them are the best selling hatchbacks.
Some car manufacturers often name their cars to acquire some ‘legacy’. For example, Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC), owner of Morris Garage (MG), is trying to ‘britwash’ its Chinese cars with names like Hector and Gloster. Kia Celtos dates back to Greek mythology, the name being derived from Celtus, the son of Heracles and the eponymous ancestor of the Celtic peoples (modern-era Irish and Scots).
At the end of the day, as Hollis says, a car name should be something easy on the tongue that you’re proud of. “But if the car isn’t good it will make little difference.”
@kushanmitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Srinjoy Dey)