Tata Motors is charging ahead in the EV space, so to speak, having established itself in the market with the likes of the Nexon and Tigor EV. Although the brand is yet to present a born-electric platform, its latest Curvv EV concept marks the next evolutionary stage of their passenger EV division, ready to take its place on the international stage.
One year into having taken on the mantle of Head of Global Design at Tata Motors, Martin Uhlarik already has a runaway success in the Tata Punch. His latest project, the Curvv EV, gives us a glimpse of just what is likely to keep Tata Motors in the lead, when it comes to the EV game.
Edited excerpts from the interview
How much of what we see with the concept will make it to the production version?
Actually, quite a lot. If you remember the HBX which eventually became the Punch, it’s more or less like that. So what you see is what you’re going to get, I would say 90-95%. All the dimensions, all the sheet metal work, all that is production ready. The changes occur with the details.
Would those details include the headlamps? I hope not
That will make it to production. Same with the rear lights.
How does the Gen 2 architecture differ from the ALFA platform?
The Gen 2 architecture caters to both powertrains, ICE and EV. It’s a transition platform, for the lack of a better word.
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Because the Gen 2 platform is powertrain agnostic
In the past we’ve had an ICE car and we’ve turned it into an EV. With this one what we’ve done is we’ve decided to make it an EV first and then put an internal combustion engine later.
So if you had to highlight the differences between the Gen 2 platform and ALFA architecture..
With everything new, we are constantly improving the charging speed and the EV range. And from a design point-of-view we are always looking to get something that has the elasticity to get as much design freedom from it. We did change quite a lot of the platform to achieve this design. All Gen 2 products will be powertrain agnostic, and will be designed to accommodate both powertrains.
How does EV design allow you to radically redesign or reimagine the modern car in a way that one couldn’t with a conventional ICE vehicle?
Well this is still Gen 2, so you have to accommodate an ICE powertrain. But when we were designing this vehicle we were thinking about EVs first. And one of the things we talked about was efficiency, so what we wanted to do was make this car as aerodynamically efficient as possible. And that’s a major factor in the design of a product. A lot of the design features have been validated through aerodynamic testing. The Curvv has been through a full-sized wind-tunnel many times.
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If you do a born EV product it’s a white sheet of paper. There are a lot of opportunities for radical redesign. And we will see that happening in the next couple of years.
Are you saying that in the next couple of years (by the time the Curvv is production ready) Tata Motors will have a born-EV platform?
Definitely. Well, the market is going EV, so that’s the natural progression.
How would you describe your vision for Tata Motors design?
I’ve been with the company for six years now. I was head of the UK studio. And then, since last year I’ve been in charge of Global Design for the brand. So my design philosophy has been fundamentally the same, it’s about making the most modern product and the most progressive looking product that reflects the technology. But at the same time it is as timeless as possible.
When designing a car like the Curvv EV, you have a larger canvas to work on, than you would with a product like the Punch. How distinct are the design approaches?
It’s an interesting thing. When you have a bigger car, you are more expressive, you have a larger canvas. This is a coupé-style product so it’s an emotional car and we want to make it as expressive as possible. Also the fact that it’s an EV, those are pretty dynamic products to drive anyway. With a product like the Punch, I always say, if you give designers less space to work with they become more creative. The more restrictions we have the more innovative we become.
The conventional notion is that good design has always been more expensive. But with the Punch and now the Curvv EV to an extent, your work is to bring a level of desirability to a more accessible range of cars
When you’re doing a smaller car, the price point is lower so you have less space not only in physical terms but also in terms of a budget to play with. So when we were designing the Punch, we fought for a lot of things with the cost department. Each aspect was a battle. A designer’s job isn’t only to draw things and it isn’t just limited to making a car look attractive. It’s doing the research, finding the benchmark, finding a new way of doing things, working with engineers. The hardest part is to make sure that what you put on paper is put on the road.
The Curvv EV will be going up against a fairly competitive segment where people tend to be very utility conscious so given that it’s also going to be converted into an internal combustion engine. Do you think the utility aspects with a sloping roofline are diminished, or is that a myth? And have people reached a stage where they are willing to forego certain level of utility and favour style?
When we designed this car we didn’t really sacrifice functionality. The interior roominess is the same as any SUV. Same with ingress and egress. Our portfolio already offers greater levels of functionality so when you’re looking where the product was positioned in our portfolio, it ticks all the boxes. And some people will choose that as the primary reason to buy it.
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