Martin Uhlarik will operate from Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) in the UK. He will report to Shailesh Chandra.
Indian auto manufacturer Tata Motors has announced the appointment of Martin Uhlarik as the company’s new Global Design Head of the automaker. The announcement from Tata Motors came soon after its outgoing Global Design Chief Pratap Bose decided to step down from the position.
Martin Uhlarik has been previously working as the Head of Design for Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC), which has been playing a key role in the development of new generation Tata passenger vehicles. Uhlarik comes with an experience of 27 years of working for different car brands over time. He had joined Tata Motors back in 2016 as the Head of Design in the United Kingdom. Martin Uhlarik is also credited with the development of the Impact 3 generation of vehicles.
Talking about the appointment of Martin Uhlarik, Tata Motors CEO and Managing Director Guenter Butschek said that Martin Uhlarik is an experienced automobile designer with deep domain knowledge of design, a keen understanding of international trends, and extensive operational experience with leading automobile companies in several geographies. “His rich experience and expertise will inspire our teams to further enhance our vehicle design philosophy and language. I take this opportunity to also thank Pratap for his services and wish him the best for the future,” Butschek said in his official statement.
Martin Uhlarik will continue to operate from TMETC in the UK. He will lead the design teams in the three locations of Tata Motors Design Centres. These are in Coventry (UK), Turin (Italy), and Pune (India). In his new position, Martin Uhlarik will report to Shailesh Chandra, President of Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors.
Uhlarik earned a degree in Industrial Design from the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto, Canada back in 1993 and a degree in Transportation Design from Art Center College of Design in Vevey, Switzerland in 1994.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors has said that Pratap Bose has stepped down from his position for better opportunities. Pratap Bose was responsible for big hit designs like Harrier, Safari, Tiago, Tigor, and Nexon – the cars that played a key role behind the revival of Tata Motors passenger vehicle business. He has been credited with a large part of Tata Motors’ turnaround over the past 3-4 years. Starting with the Tiago hatchback, then the Tigor and Hexa, Pratap Bose’s team’s design work has propelled Tata Motors into contention once again.
Later on, passenger vehicles like Harrier, Nexon, Nexon EV, new Safari, and the Altroz premium hatchback have also added to the portfolio of the homegrown brand, and the automaker enjoyed the highest monthly sales in several years. Pratap Bose’s Pratap Bose’s most recent design work was the new Tata Safari, which has started to gain a lot of popularity since its arrival.
Bose has a slew of awards under his belt, over his 14-year long career at Tata Motors. His first design project for Tata Motors was the Safari Storme and co-incidentally he ended his journey with the brand with the new Safari. He also played a key role in the design of the Tata commercial vehicles as well, which too witnessed a design revision just like the passenger vehicles.
Talking about his decision of leaving Tata Motors, Pratap Bose said that he had the privilege of working with three Chairmen – Ratan Tata, Cyrus P Mistry, and N Chandrasekaran. Besides, he worked with five Managing Directors; Ravi Kant, Prakash M Telang, Carl Peter Forster, Karl Slym, Guenter Butschek, and Shailesh Chandra. “All of them have taught me so much. I would also like to mention a whole host of brilliant colleagues across the country, our dealer partners, and of course our suppliers,” he further added.
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