A ground-up redesign of Autocar India's app — shaped in conversation with editor Hormazd Sorabjee — rebuilt around three readers: people buying a car, people who love cars, and people who already own one.
Autocar India has run authoritative car journalism for over two decades — but its app read like a PDF of the magazine: a digital newsstand, not a destination. Navigation was flat, ad space was an afterthought, and none of its three readers had a reason to open it between issues.
The brief I set for myself: improve the everyday experience of the app, and in doing so, open up the traffic and revenue the current structure was leaving on the table.
It stopped being "make the app nicer" and became "give each reader a reason to open it on a Tuesday, not just on launch day."— Framing shaped in conversation with Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor, Autocar India, after meeting him at his office
None of these numbers are Autocar's own — they're the industry backdrop that made the three priorities below worth designing for.
A standard discover–define–design–deliver loop, with validation scoped as the deliberate next step rather than skipped.
One app was trying to serve very different intents at once. Separating goals and frustrations by persona is what made the prioritisation call possible.
Classifieds and research apps already exist in India. Autocar's edge isn't more listings — it's editorial credibility nothing else in this table can claim.
| Capability | Autocar India (before) | CarDekho / CarWale | Cars24 / Spinny | Autocar India (redesign) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent road tests | Yes, print-first | Limited | No | Yes, daily on home feed |
| Side-by-side comparison | No | Yes | No | Yes, with 3D view |
| Inspected pre-owned listings | No | Partial | Yes | Yes — Autocar Certified |
| Motorsport & launch content | Monthly | Limited | No | Live, daily |
| Editorial brand trust | High, underused | Low | Low | High, applied to Certified |
The app monetised almost entirely through print subscriptions inside a PDF viewer. Mapping personas against Autocar's existing content surfaced four workable revenue streams.
Numbers and 3D views instead of paragraphs — a buyer should never have to read a review to find a horsepower figure.
If a screen only mattered once a month, it moved off the home feed — daily content is the whole retention strategy.
Every new revenue idea had to use Autocar's editorial credibility, not just its audience.
Scored on impact against effort. The fourth needed data infrastructure Autocar doesn't control yet — parked, not designed, in this pass.
Buyers had no way to weigh cars against each other — only separate reviews to hold in their head. A dedicated comparison screen puts shortlisted cars side by side, with a draggable 3D view of each before it's ever seen in person.
Enthusiasts had little reason to open the old app outside of a new issue dropping. Launches, motorsport and long-form reviews now live on the home screen itself, so the app earns daily visits instead of monthly ones.
Autocar's classifieds already take a cut of listings it never inspects. Autocar Certified pairs dealer inventory with Autocar's own inspection checklist — turning a listing into something a buyer will pay a premium to trust.
20+ years testing cars
Existing classifieds partners
Buyer pays a trust premium
Letting owners track fines, insurance renewals and service history tested well with real car owners. It's parked because it depends on integrations Autocar doesn't control — RTO records, insurer data, service networks — and doesn't draw on Autocar's editorial voice or dealer relationships. A strong phase-two candidate, once the app has proven it can hold owners' attention at all.
Framed the way a product team would define success before shipping — a north star, and one supporting metric per persona.
Home feed, comparison, car detail and Autocar Certified — built out end to end in Figma.
Open the Figma prototype