Mahindra vehicles are expected to go through a drastic transformation under the guidance of Pratap Bose, who was responsible for the transformation of Tata Motors passenger vehicles through the Impact design language in the last half a decade.
Former Vice President of Design at Tata Motors, Pratap Bose is all set to start his new journey with the Mahindra Group. He is likely to head the newly formed Mahindra Advanced Design Europe (M.A.D.E) Centre located in the West Midlands of the UK. Pratap Bose resigned from his position in Tata Motors in late April this year after serving the homegrown auto manufacturer for 10 years.
Pratap Bose joining the Mahindra group as the head of M.A.D.E can be seen as a critical move at this juncture, when Mahindra & Mahindra, one of the major homegrown players in the Indian automobile market is trying to transform its passenger vehicle design language, which had drawn flak in past for being not impressive. Bose’s expertise in automotive designing and past success with a host of Tata Motors PVs are certainly an indication that we can see a drastic change in Mahindra cars in the near future.
Mahindra has been aiming to grab a larger chunk in the Indian electric vehicle market and utility vehicle segment as well, where it has a stronghold. Pratap Bose was instrumental in Tata Motors’ entry into the electric car segment as well. The Tata Nexon EV has garnered a pretty good response from buyers and it is currently the bestselling electric car in the Indian market. Considering that and taking Mahindra’s ambition about EVs into account, it can be said that Bose will play a key role in the development of M&M electric vehicles.
Bose was a key figure behind the revolutionary change of the Tata passenger vehicles that have been witnessed in terms of design, features, and modernization in the last decade. He was responsible for the big hit designs like the Impact series, which spawned out the models such as Tiago, Tigor, Nexon, Altroz, Safari, and Harrier, the cars that played vital roles in the revival of Tata Motors passenger vehicle business. Bose started his journey in Tata Motors with the Safari Storme project and his last project at the automaker was the new safari. Tata cars have become more aspirational for the young buyers in the last five years and Bose played an important role in this transformation of the brand.
In the development of the future Mahindra EVs and UVs, the Mahindra Advanced Design Europe (M.A.D.E) is expected to play a major role. It comes as an integral part of the Mahindra Global Design Network that also includes the Mahindra Design Studio located in Mumbai and Pininfarina Design in Turin. It is located in the Coventry region in the Uk, which is considered the powerhouse of automotive design. M&M has stated that M.A.D.E will contribute and leverage the skills, experience, and expertise of this network of design talent and it will also support the creation of highly skilled design roles, drawing from Coventry University, Royal College of Art, and other design colleges in the UK and Europe.
Set to be operational from 1st July 2021, M.A.D.E has been formed as a strategic enhancement of Mahindra’s global design capabilities, as M&M said. It is likely to renew the automaker’s commitment to bring to its customers, sophisticated, authentic SUVs with an unmissable presence. The automaker also said that M.A.D.E will further sharpen Mahindra’s distinctive product designs and differentiated technology offerings to further its safe, thrilling, yet efficient connected car experiences.
Speaking about the formation of M.A.D.E, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, M&M, said that it is a key lever to make the business future-ready and to significantly strengthen design capability across automotive, farm equipment, and two-wheelers globally. He also stated that M.A.D.E will contribute to all future automotive and mobility products including EVs, SUVs and be a resource available to Mahindra Group companies. “It will give us a quantum leap in both capacity and capability in the design space,” Jejurikar further said.
Meanwhile, Pratap Bose is likely to be joined at the M.A.D.E by British luxury vehicle marque Jaguar Land Rover’s former Design Director Julian Thomson, who parted ways with the Tata Group brand after a two-decade-long stint with the company. However, this is just speculation so far and Mahindra is yet to issue any official statement.
Also Read: Martin Uhlarik becomes Tata Motors’ new Global Design Head, Pratap Bose quits
