It is an over view of the classification of automobiles,prepared by SAE club of our college

1. (2014-2015)
Chairperson: T.Mani Teja (MAE 4th
)
Vice Chairperson:Amal George (MAE 4th
)
Secretary: Rishabh Kakkar (MAE 4th
)
Membership chair: Gagan Dhawan (MAE 3rd
)
Publicity chair: Deepak Kukreja (MAE 3rd
)
Program Chair: Prashant Gupta (MAE 4th
)

2. Automobile
It stands for automatically (not powered by humans) moving machine manufactured principally
for the transport of people and goods.
Today the automobile segment is divided into various segments based on various aspects one of
the most important of which is number of rotating wheels.
On the basis of number of operating wheels, automobiles are divided into:
1. Single wheeler
2. Two wheeler
3. Three wheeler
4. Four Wheeler
5. Above four wheeler
Single wheeler/ Uni-wheeler:
Vehicles which have only one wheel powered by motor (electric/fuel).It’s almost impractical to be
used in daily life because of it’s bi-directional (2 directional) imbalance operation. Its example is
Unibike.
Two wheelers:
Vehicle having two wheels. More close to practical and used more than Uni wheelers. We have to
balance only sideways which is easier at a bit velocity due to gyroscopic effect of rotating masses.
Its examples are motor bikes and scooters.
Vespa Scooter
Three wheeler:
Vehicles having three operating wheels. Less practical than two wheelers or four wheelers
Because of dynamic unbalancing at high speeds while cornering (turning). Best suited for low
speed economic transports due to lesser tractive force than 4wheeler and lesser cost of
manufacturing. E.g.: Autorikshaws (bajaj re) , mahindra alfa, atul shakti etc.
4 wheeler:
Most common type of automobile. Most balanced and practical.
Examples are cars, trucks, lorry etc.
They are divided into further segments
On the basis of body style:
Ryno Single wheeled bike

3. Hatchback
Maruti Swift
It is of 2 box constructed body. It is further divided into
Entry level hatchbacks: Generally cheaper, less features, engine capacity upto 1000cc e.g.Tata
Nano, Maruti Suzuki alto etc.
Mid level hatchbacks: Generally around 1000-1500cc engine, important/required features are
available in top models. E.g. Maruti Suzuki wagon r, Hyundai i10 Etc.
Premium hatchback: Generally 1200-1600cc engine capacity, all the premium features are
available as standard e.g. ABS, rear parking sensors etc with high quality leather upholstery and
refined drive train.
Sedan/Saloon
Chevrolet Cruze
It is of 3 box body construction. It is further divided into
Entry level sedans: Generally cheaper (within 8 lakhs), less features important/required features
are available in top models, engine capacity 1000-1500cc e.g.Tata indigo manza, Honda city etc.
Mid level hatchbacks: Generally engine capacity beyond 1600cc, packed with high end features
but quality is medium, generally cost just above 10 lakhs. E.g. Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze etc.
Premium hatchback: Generally beyond 2200 engine capacity, all the premium and high class
features are available as standard e.g. ABS, EBD, rear parking sensors etc with high quality
leather upholstery, wooden dashboards and refined engines and extremely smooth drive feel,
generally above 18 lakhs ranges upto crores. E.g:Audi a4, Mercedes s class etc.
Notchback
It is a 3 box construction where third box (Boot space) is smaller than sedan and rear lid opens
with the rear glass while in sedans rear glass does not opens with the lid. e.g.: Skoda Octavia.
Coupe
It is a 3 box construction generally of 2 doors only with either 2 seats or 5 seats with very less
legroom (leg space) for rear passengers, shorter than sedan e.g.:Audi A7, BMW 640 d etc.
Skoda Octavia

4. Roadster/Convertibles
It is an open two-seat car with sporty characteristics. Aremovable Soft top roof is provided with a
roadster for weather protection which is why they are often called Convertibles. e.g.: BMW Z4
roadster, Jaguar F type roadster etc.
Fastback
Ferrari F12 berlinetta
Afastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The style is
seen on two-door coupés as well as four-door sedans.e.g: Mercedes CLS class, Ferrari F12
berlinetta etc.
SUV
It stands for Sports utility vehicle generally having big body built with high ground clearance for
off-roading (going beyond roads) may or may not be equipped with 4wheel or All wheel drive
system and thick tires for more grip on dirty terrains.e.g: Honda CRV, Toyota Fortuner etc.
UV
It stands for Utility Vehicles generally similar to SUV, having 5 to 9 seater options, but with rear
wheel drive (NOT 4 wheel/all wheel drives).e.g.:Mahindra Bolero, Scorpio etc.
MUV
Toyota Innova
It stands for Multi Utility vehicle. As the name suggests it is used for multiple purposes including
going for weekends, carrying luggage and/or 5-9 people, generally used as Taxi services.e.g:
Toyota Innova, Maruti Ertiga etc.
Crossover
It is a cross (combination) of Hatchbacks and SUV(or UV).It is one of the most popular and
emerging segment these days where a Hatchback model is given a few properties of SUV(or UV)
i.e. raised height, Masculine wide looks etc which is why it is often called Mini SUV. E.g.: Toyota
Etios Cross, Ford EcoSport etc.
Compact sedan
This segment emerged in india after a ruling of Indian Government regarding higher taxes for cars
of length more than 4 metres. Car manufacturers started to manufacture Sedans with reduced
length for cheaper yet spacious cars which became a combination of Sedan and Coupe now known
as Compact Sedans (CS) e.g.: Tata Indiago CS, Hyundai Excent, Maruti Swift Dzire etc.

5. Estate
TATA Indigo Marina
It is one of the special segments which is developed for a family adventures with large space for 5
people, tents and/or other luggage etc., often called Station Wagon. e.g.: Fiat Palio Adventure,
TATA indigo Marina etc.
Pickup
TATA Xenon
It is a 3 box type extension of UV/SUV with an open trailer attached at the back generally with 2
door or 4 door with less space for rear seats.It is used generally for carrying heavy loads with
people also but now a days are famous for off-roading too e.g.: TATA Xenon, Mahindra Bolero
Pickup etc.
Lorry
TATA 407
It is more of a Truck than a car with huge tires, large trailer for heavy loads and large capacity of
diesel engine.e.g: TATA 407.
ATV
Polaris Sportsman (Quad bike)
It stands for All terrain vehicle. These are special purpose vehicles which are designed to ply on
any type of terrain form mud, shallow water to rocks and forests. E.g.: Buggies, quad bikes etc.
GT
GT stands of Grand Tourer (gran tourismo in Italian). It is generally a 2 door coupe which is able
to carry generally 4 people. It is considered as a different segment than coupe because of the fact
that GT cars are built for grand tours or long journeys along the states with high speed thrills and
luxurious interiors too. Today the term grand tourer, or gran turismo, is synonymous with race
versions of sports cars (even those not fitting the definition provided above) that take part in sports

6. car racing, including endurance races like 24 hour Le-mans. E.g.:AUDI R8, FORD GT etc.
Hybrid
Hybrid contains all other types of vehicles which do not lie in any of the above segments. They
are generally combination of 2 or more segments and are built for some special purposes.e.g:
Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion etc.
Above 4 wheelers there are trucks and trailers used specifically for transportation of heavy loads
and goods etc with high torque diesel engines generally of very large displacements above 3000cc.