As AI accelerates design and product cycles tighten, automotive creativity is being redefined as a race against redundancy.
17 Jul 2025 | 452 Views | By Prerna Lidhoo & Ketan Thakkar
"You're just one product away from becoming irrelevant." That stark warning from Pratap Bose, Mahindra & Mahindra’s Chief Design Officer, explains the existential anxiety automotive designers are facing today. In a world where design and production cycles span six to seven years, but market trends pivot in months, obsolescence isn’t ...
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"You're just one product away from becoming irrelevant." That stark warning from Pratap Bose, Mahindra & Mahindra’s Chief Design Officer, explains the existential anxiety automotive designers are facing today. In a world where design and production cycles span six to seven years, but market trends pivot in months, obsolescence isn’t just a risk, it's an evident inevitability.
Once thriving on predictability and longterm planning, the rules of automotive design now demand constant reinvention. “As designers, our fear today is being made irrelevant and redundant by some other brand. You’re one product away from a competitor to make your product obsolete. You make a business case for 6-7 years and it might become obsolete by the time you launch,” says Bose.
Another growing challenge for industry professionals is keeping pace with China’s breakneck product timelines, a pressure that’s now becoming evident even in the Indian market. If there’s one thing that keeps me up at night, Bose adds, is the pace and scale of change in China’s automotive industry, something he’s never seen elsewhere.
“Their pace and scale of change…I don’t know how that will play out, but it’s something we have to watch closely. What sets them apart is their software-first approach to design and innovation, a stark contrast to the hardware-dominated mindset of traditional automakers,” he says.
“The question is: how do we integrate that mindset into automotive design?” For Bose, the challenge isn’t just keeping up, it’s rethinking the very foundation of how design, tech, and product development work together. “The pace at which they’re able to integrate cutting-edge technology into the product that’s something we need to learn from,” he adds.
While China presents a challenge, some designers also view it as a powerful opportunity. For Tata Motors’ Martin Uhlarik, China’s rapid product cycles are redefining global benchmarks. “Time to market is going to accelerate. You’ll almost have this seamless concept-to-road delivery. I would love to see our visions on the road faster and it’s only going to make the customer get more value,” says Martin Uhlarik, VP and Head of Global Design at Tata Motors.
Technology & Emotion
As artificial intelligence and digital design tools rapidly transform the automotive industry, the question is whether machines can replace human creativity. But seasoned designers like Bose see AI not as a threat but as just the latest in a long line of innovations that promised to replace human judgment, and didn’t.
From markers and sketchpads to today’s sophisticated CAD systems and visualization software, Bose has seen it all. Yet, he argues, the soul of design still lies in human taste and intuition. He says that while the tools have evolved, the core of creative judgment remains human.
“When Photoshop came, they said the marker days are over; it will design the car for you. Then with CAS (Computer-Aided Styling) /CAD (Computer-Aided Design) came, they said clay modeling will disappear whereas automotive clay modeling is a bigger profession today than it ever was. Has my pencil and marker disappeared? AI is an enabler, it cannot replace taste,” he said.
The upside, he adds, is that AI and digital prototyping have cut design timelines nearly in half. “The time taken to design and develop cars has changed. It used to be 72 months, now down to 34 months. We’re able to convert a 2D sketch into a 3D clip model with 3 views,” he said. Still, AI doesn’t replace human taste especially when a product has to emotionally resonate across cultures and markets.
“AI will enable faster visualisation. That 36 months should become 28. The customer wants it faster. The Chinese are making cars from scratch in 24 months. This is the world we’re in. Taste is one of those things where you need that human judgement,” he said. Mahindra’s design strategy, Bose says, is to anticipate what’s coming 5–7 years ahead.
“That means front-loading investment, freezing fewer elements early, and giving teams the flexibility to pivot. With AI, you can experiment more. Earlier it was difficult to make a change. Before clay we would use POP (plaster of Paris), wood, etc.. Doing iterations was difficult. Now, it can be used to our advantage to give us more agility,” he adds.
As generative AI, machine learning, and connected ecosystems redefine what a car is, one question looms large for automotive designers: Can machines craft emotion? Laurens van den Acker, Head of Design at Renault Group, isn’t betting on it, at least not yet. For him, the future of car design lies in a careful balance between intelligent platforms and instinctive, human emotion.
"Design is what makes you fall in love with a car before you even drive it, and that is something AI can't do on its own, at least, not the way a human designer feels it,” he said. Van den Acker, believes that in an era where AI can iterate body shapes faster than any clay modeler, the challenge is not speed but soul.
“You can let AI generate a thousand variants but the car you remember or the one that becomes iconic is the one that has an emotional narrative. It’s sculpted with a purpose,” he said. Even in data-driven, efficiency-obsessed times, design remains an irrational act, he adds. “Emotion is still our biggest differentiator. Without it, mobility becomes a utility and that’s not what people aspire to own,” he said. And hence, Uhlarik says, design instincts remain irreplaceable.
“Many times, design is, yes, the visual part of a car, but it's the sum of its parts. All of the elements coming together in a very attractive package is what makes people make an emotional connection. Design is the humanistic dialogue or conversation that people have with a product. The first connection has to be emotional then you rationalize it in your head,” he says.
Even within a common design language, for him, each Tata vehicle needs a unique character. “All of our nameplates like Altroz, Tiago, Nexon or Safari have a character and an identity. The idea is to design them in a way that you can identify them without seeing the wordmark,” he adds. In an AI-driven world, leading car designers say that the design language must remain emotionally resonant, technologically current, and unmistakably human.
“AI is an ongoing huge topic in today’s day and age. It'll make you process more ideas faster but the designer’s role remains critical. You need to kind of know where you want to go and get those varieties of ideas and proposals. That’s where the human touch comes in,” Uhlarik explains.
Designing for EVs
As the global auto industry transitions toward electrification, the challenge for designers isn’t just about adapting to new powertrains, it’s about creating vehicles that resonate emotionally across diverse markets. For Van den Acker, this means designing cars that not only meet functional and regulatory demands, but also tap into evolving consumer desires. And few segments embody that tension between form and function more than the SUV, a category now being reshaped by both electric mobility and regional design tastes.
New technologies like autonomous driving, voice control, new regulations and holograms offer both challenges and opportunities for automakers.
“With electrification, SUVs have become a lot more aerodynamic because they need to go far. As SUVs evolve into electric avatars, their design changes too: they could be more sensual, lower, stretched and aerodynamic but if they [evolve as] PHEVs or HEVs, they can stay quite robust and tough,” he explains.
To combat the rapid pace of tech-led innovation and reducing product cycles, Renault is betting on iconic design and software-defined vehicles. “We’re designing cars like the R5, the R4, and the Twingo to be instantly recognizable and we’re making sure the cars don’t age quickly by giving them digital brains. With software-defined vehicles, we can update and upgrade experiences. So they get better over time instead of degrading. That extends the lifecycle and keeps them desirable,” he said.
ŠKODA’s Chief Designer Oliver Stefani, too, believes that with EVs and software-defined cars, the focus is broadening. “User experience can be many things. The cars will offer many possibilities in the future. It will shift a way in working on those cars. It’s will be about a holistic approach of creating a car,” he said. But even in the electric age, Stefani cautions against abandoning user familiarity. “Electric design will be different from ICE. People want to be identified with EVs but not have too many design experiments,” he adds.
Bose says that to stay futureproofed, one needs a huge leap of faith and a clarity on what the product stands for. “Keep pushing very hard for differentiation. You’ve to know you can fail, try and bounce back, you can’t revive a flop automobile. Learn very quickly. That’s the key in today’s times,” he said. At the heart of Mahindra’s electric ambitions is Inglo, a modular EV architecture designed from the ground up for flexibility and global compliance.
“How the architecture influences the product and how the product influences the architecture is very important to keep track of,” he said. Inglo, he says, is built for efficiency and future-readiness. “Inglo is protected for 18–20 inch types of wheels which is more efficient. This kind of forward-looking product-platform synergy allows us to compress timelines, control costs, and increase consistency across models all while meeting global safety and design standards,” he said.
In a sharp departure from the past, design has now become one of the biggest drivers of automotive purchase decisions. “In the last few years, we’ve seen that design is now the No.1 consideration of automotive products. Earlier it used to be price, fuel efficiency, but now design is the driving factor,” he said.
Bose said that in a technologysaturated world, the emotional pull of good design is what gets people into showrooms. “The technology at a certain phase will always equalise. The design is what gets people into the showroom. The first contact with the product is visual,” he said. While SUVs dominate headlines, Van den Acker sees a creative opportunity in segments often written off: sedans and hatchbacks.
“With electrification, cars are going to get lower again. The lower they are, the better they perform in range. That plays into the return of beautifully proportioned sedans or even long hatches and shooting brakes. With low-floor EV platforms, you can create stunning silhouettes,” he said. What keeps him awake at night? “A lot,” he says.
“The world is messy. We’re seeing trade wars, technology wars, and fragmentation. Being a global manufacturer is harder than ever.” Despite uncertainties, van den Acker remains bullish on Renault’s ability to respond creatively. “Maybe this is the time for us to accelerate, to double down on innovation, on emotion, and India. This time, we enter this potential crisis from a position of strength,” says van den Acker.
Škoda’s Stefani, too, believes the answer lies in embracing complexity, not fearing it. “New technologies throw up difficult challenges and I like that. Autonomous driving, voice control, new regulations and even holograms. I am happy that the world is not getting boring, because we want to stay creative,” he said.
“I am looking forward to every new challenge, because it makes our lives interesting and tests our creativity. We have to make the best of it and the challenge is to do it better than others. It’s like Formula 1, where you always have to push to stay ahead with the new rules. So I am not afraid of the future. For the last 20 years, we have had only glass, rubber and steel, and now there are so many new interesting avenues to explore,” he adds.
Škoda’s next era of design will be underpinned by a strategy Stefani calls Modern Solid. “Modern solid design is our main guideline. As a strategy it’s defined as solid, functional and authentic design. Something very simple, practical and honest,” he said. Looking ahead, Stefani believes that global design is moving toward clean aesthetics “Simplicity is a trend which everybody is aiming for. Minimalism is the key for the future,” he adds
The Future of Indian Design
Van den Acker sees India evolving from a cost-efficient execution base to a global creative powerhouse for Renault. “Not everyone knows this, but we’ve already developed several cars from our Indian design centre. India is our counterpole to China,” he said.
He argues, India may be the only country that can match China’s scale with equal creativity and hustle. “In terms of cost, passion, and entrepreneurial spirit, India is rising. The potential is massive. India teaches us humility. If a car can survive here, it can survive anywhere,” he adds. While India may still be a cost-sensitive, highly competitive battleground, its broader value is rising within Renault's global system.
For global carmakers like Škoda, it’s about designing for global tastes while still being locally grounded. “We try to have almost the same design for every market while localising some of the design elements. We send designers in India, try to be close to the market and respect the market,” says Stefani.
India is now the third-largest automotive market in the world, but its design footprint still lags far behind. Bose believes it’s time for a radical shift–in investment, ambition, and mindset–if Indian automotive design is to claim its rightful place on the global stage. “Just 2-3 companies in India have a design studio of a considerable size and scale. There’s a huge problem of scale. Some companies have come and gone but haven’t invested anything in design. Investments need to go up,” he said.
Despite the market’s size, design has often been treated as an afterthought. Bose is unequivocal: without real investment, India will continue to lose its best creative minds to international companies. “We’re losing amazing Indian talent to overseas companies. Companies like Ather and Ultraviolette, for example, have stood out because of design. We need to see more Indian design on the roads,” he adds.
Bose doesn’t see Indian design as something to be boxed into a domestic market. Mahindra’s growing success in global markets is, in part, a validation of that approach. “With our designs, we have global ambitions. We’re doing very well in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia,” he adds. Bose is clear that the company isn’t building a cookiecutter lineup under a single brand umbrella. Mahindra’s SUV portfolio isn’t a monolith and that’s by design.
“We have five brands of SUVs. What’s unique to Mahindra is the strength of these five brands. That strength became clear with the Thar Roxx. When it launched, it saw waiting periods of up to 18 months not because it was a typical Mahindra SUV, but because it wasn’t. If I’m a Mahindra customer, I’d buy a Scorpio N, a body-on-frame SUV. But these people weren’t Mahindra customers. They were Thar customers,” he said. This was a moment of realization for Bose: “I realized that there’s no Mahindra customer, actually. And that’s the power of design.”