Martin Uhlarik: "We're as ambitious as anybody"

Tata Motors and the whole conglomerate has a very special position in India. It’s seen as the ‘home team’ and the company has always had a role which goes beyond products and services, to elevating India to a higher plane and standard. This philanthropic role builds a relationship with the customer in India which is special. Our brand principle is fundamentally about improving the quality of life of our customers, so our products – through design – have to communicate that. 

Tata Motors’ products can’t be niche. They need a broader, timeless appeal. I’m looking for our vehicles to be leaders, not just in terms of modern and progressive design – and I consider myself a modernist as a designer – but also in good functionality and purity of design. That will leave a much bigger mark than making something that might be more of a statement, but could be ‘here today, gone tomorrow’. 

Our plan is to launch Avinya in early 2027 to sit above our Tata Motors portfolio. We offer Tata EVs as well, but Avinya will be an EV-only global premium brand. 

Part of my job is editing the redundant lines and complications out and making the design as clean as possible. But it’s also about the customer experience. Whether that’s UX and UI or comfort, driving an EV should get rid of the ‘white noise’. Reducing stress is part of the equation. When you’re driving a vehicle in India, there’s a lot of visual noise – and a lot of noise in general – so a car becomes like a sanctuary. This is a very Indian characteristic, finding peace of mind by almost zoning into the space. 

I think this is also something we can export. There hasn’t really been a global Indian car brand before so if that’s our aspiration, we need to be authentic, not some sort of ‘white goods car’ that just happens to be well designed. It needs character. We have the opportunity to define what an Indian car is. There aren’t any preconceptions yet, so we can define that in a positive way.

 Complicated UX and UI systems can be a huge turn-off. Literally. From an interior design point of view, I would say UX/UI is now the main pillar. If you don’t get that right, it doesn’t matter how good your product design, materials or perceived quality is. Now it’s almost the first thing people assess when they consider a product. 

We benchmark cars, either here in our design building or by taking them home for an evening. One car from a brand I like a lot frustrated me so much. I only wanted to connect and listen to a podcast, but the process was so overdone, from the graphics to the interface. The same thing happened with a recent holiday rental car. I ended up turning the whole thing off and almost made the mental note: never buy a car from this brand. 

We have UX/UI technical partners and specialists – a large portfolio of people – then a smaller group who frame and define what we want. They are very experienced and knowledgeable and create the template. We didn’t scale up a massive team and try to do it in-house. This landscape changes so quickly, you need to be flexible and have outsourced partners. 

To be honest, in every stream we have outsourcing, even the design part and not just Alias and operational stuff, but creative design. I have people who I tap up, whether they’re in a consultancy or individuals and we also have three studios. I want the in-house team to win, but at the same time, it never hurts to have a bit of a catalyst to bring in a second point of view. 

I really enjoy the commercial vehicle design part of the job as well, because it has nothing to do with anything superficial. Whether it’s a bus or a truck, small or large, a commercial vehicle is a professional tool. It also has a lifecycle far beyond 20 years, so it has to be designed in an even more timeless way. It’s proper industrial design, pure function. Ultimately, commercial vehicle design is about delivering goods, services and people safely and reliably, plus considering the wellbeing of the driver. It needs to have cabin comfort and functionality, and allow the driver to get the job done efficiently and without tiredness. At the same time, the design should be customisable to make it their own space. It’s an office on wheels, but almost a home for many too. 

Our standing from a car design point of view has been getting better and better. It’s based on the virtue of the work being done by our people. I think we communicate a very professional level of design and we’re as ambitious as anybody. We want to be the best.

This interview was originally published in Car Design Review 12. To order your copy, please click here.