Open the door of a Mahindra SUV—Thar, Scorpio, or XUV700—and you are stepping into a design story shaped by one person. Ramkripa Ananthan spent 25 years inside Mahindra, guiding how these vehicles look, feel, and work for India. She blended tough, go-anywhere attitude with everyday comfort at a time when Indian buyers were shifting hard toward SUVs. Then, in 2022, she switched gears: she founded her own studio and took charge of design at Ola Electric, carrying that experience into India’s young EV market.
Her name isn’t on the tailgate. But her fingerprints are everywhere—on the stance, the seats, the way the dash wraps around you, even the storage for big water bottles. It’s a very Indian approach to car design: respect rough roads and heat, but don’t forget ease of use, safety, and a bit of drama.
From engineering to aesthetics: a designer built in India
Ananthan’s training is a rare combo in the industry. She studied Mechanical Engineering at BITS Pilani, then moved to the IDC School of Design at IIT Bombay. That mix—hard-core engineering plus product design—set her up to speak two languages at once: numbers with engineers, emotions with buyers.
She joined Mahindra & Mahindra in 1997 as an interior designer. The timing mattered. India’s car market was opening up, and Mahindra was moving from utility-first vehicles to SUVs that could appeal to urban families as well as fleet and rural buyers. Interiors were getting more complex: more features, more tech, tighter crash and safety rules, and expectations shaped by global brands.
Her early work ran through the cabins of Mahindra products like the Bolero, Scorpio, and Xylo. These were not show-car exercises. They were practical, high-impact programs where materials, ergonomics, durability, and cost fight for the same square inch. Over time, she expanded from steering interiors to defining full-vehicle character.
As she climbed, she led cross-functional teams and coordinated with suppliers, digital modelers, clay sculptors, and testing units. Design reviews meant tough trade-offs: visibility versus bonnet height, seat comfort versus packaging, premium feel versus price, and later, the integration of safety tech and ADAS without cluttering the driver’s view.
Her portfolio covers many of Mahindra’s biggest nameplates through multiple generations. The vehicles don’t look or feel the same, but you can spot the pattern: strong proportions, upright confidence, and a focus on practical detail that helps these SUVs survive a monsoon and a weekend trail while still doing school runs.
Here are some of the key models where her teams left a mark:
- Scorpio: One of India’s most recognizable SUVs. The model evolved over the years without losing its tough image.
- Thar: The modern remake kept the rugged spirit but improved comfort, safety, and daily usability. It became a lifestyle SUV with real off-road guts.
- XUV500: Brought a new, more global design language to the brand and made three-row SUVs aspirational for many first-time buyers.
- XUV700: Pushed the game with sleek surfaces, advanced driver assistance, and a more premium interior feel.
- XUV300: A compact SUV that balanced city-friendly size with mature styling and safety-first packaging.
- TUV300: Boxy, upright, and purposefully simple—designed to signal toughness in a compact footprint.
- Marazzo: Focused on space, comfort, and family use, with a clean interior and thoughtful ergonomics.
- KUV100: An entry model aimed at bringing SUV cues to a smaller, more affordable segment.
- Thar Roxx: The latest chapter in the Thar story, signaling how the brand is stretching the off-road image for broader appeal.
The Thar is the best example of her balancing act. It kept the old-school appeal—square lines, chunky tires, high seating—but fixed the pain points: better seats, safer body structure, smarter features, and materials you can live with daily. The XUV700 shows the other side: smooth surfacing, a tech-forward cabin, and the kind of road presence buyers now expect from a flagship SUV.
Mahindra’s success with SUVs is not just about looks. India’s crash rules are stricter now, and buyers care about safety ratings and features like ESC, multiple airbags, and driver-assist functions. Her teams had to make these systems sit naturally in the car—integrated sensors, cameras, displays, and alerts—without turning the cabin into a gadget mess.
Then there’s the India factor. Designers must plan for steep speed breakers, waterlogged roads, extreme temperatures, heavy urban traffic, and long highway trips. That affects everything: angles, clearances, cooling, wiper coverage, HVAC performance, door seals, seat cushioning, even cupholder size. It’s not glamorous, but it’s where good design earns trust.
Over two decades, Mahindra moved from rugged utility to refined SUVs that compete head-to-head with global players. Marketing talked about animal-inspired themes with the XUV line; engineering pushed for higher safety and efficiency; and design had to bring it together so the product felt new but still “Mahindra.” That brand DNA—upright stance, visual strength, and honest function—stayed consistent while materials, screens, and tech stepped up markedly.
Behind the scenes, the design process changed too. Early years leaned on clay models and physical bucks. Later, digital tools took over for rapid iterations, VR checks for visibility and ergonomics, and tighter integration with aerodynamics and safety teams. The goal didn’t change: lock in the proportions first, then refine surfaces and details, then polish touchpoints inside the cabin.
By the time she left, her teams had worked across body styles and price bands, building continuity within the lineup. The “family look” helped buyers recognize a Mahindra even without a badge.
New chapter: entrepreneurship and the EV shift
In 2022, after 25 years, Ananthan left Mahindra and launched Krux Studio, her design consultancy. That move opened doors beyond auto interiors and exteriors—into consumer products, mobility concepts, and brand language work. Shortly after, she took over as head of design at Ola Electric, stepping into India’s fastest-moving EV space.
Designing EVs is a different puzzle. There’s a skateboard-like battery pack, heavy underfloor mass, and a big push for drag reduction. There’s less need for big grilles, more need for cooling and aero management you can’t always see. Inside, screens get larger, software updates change features overnight, and the cabin has to be both minimal and warm. Getting the HMI right—clear fonts, simple menus, right-sized icons—can matter as much as stitching on the seats.
Ola Electric built its brand in scooters and is working on cars. The job for a design head here isn’t just to style one product; it’s to set a design language the company can scale across segments. That means consistency in proportions, lighting signatures, materials, and the “feel” of the interface. It also means factoring in cost, charging realities, and Indian road use from day one.
Why does her move matter? Because India’s auto story is shifting from hardware to hardware-plus-software. A designer who spent decades solving real-world problems for ICE SUVs can bring a grounded perspective to EVs, where range anxiety, charging time, and thermal management meet emotions and brand identity. If the vehicle looks smart but feels confusing to use, the design failed. If it drives quietly but the cabin rattles over broken roads, the design failed. EV or ICE, the basics don’t change.
There’s another layer to her story: representation. Auto design has long been male-dominated, especially on the exterior side. Her rise inside a hard-nosed SUV brand showed younger designers—especially women—that there’s room at the table. Hiring and mentoring matter. So do visible examples of success.
Her personal roots hint at where that steady approach came from. She grew up in a home that valued education. Her father, an educationist, worked at Jeevana School in Madurai, a well-known institution in the region. That kind of upbringing shows in her process: methodical, collaborative, and open to iteration.
Look at the market backdrop and her timing seems uncanny. In the 2000s and 2010s, India’s love for SUVs exploded. Buyers wanted a high seating position, space, and a feeling of safety. Mahindra rode that wave. In the 2020s, the next wave is electrification. Charging networks are growing, costs are shifting, and software is now a core feature. She moved right as this transition gathered pace.
What about the cars themselves—what made her teams’ SUVs click with buyers? Three things stand out.
- Proportions first: Keep the basics right—wheelbase, overhangs, and stance. If the silhouette feels balanced, the rest can be refined.
- Human-first interiors: Seat support, visibility, and cabin storage matter as much as a big screen. Make features simple to find and hard to misuse.
- Design for India: Plan for monsoon water, dust, heat, and rough roads. Materials, sealing, and cooling must survive the country, not a showroom test.
That approach can be seen in small details: placement of grab handles in the Thar, wipe patterns that actually cover the screen area, or the way touchpoints like rotary knobs and door pulls feel solid. In premium models, you’ll notice tight panel gaps and muted reflections on displays to cut glare. In more affordable models, you’ll see smart use of textures and color to mask cost without looking cheap.
Safety demanded design changes too. A-pillars got thicker to meet crash norms but had to be shaped to preserve visibility. Bonnet height, bumper design, and clearances needed tuning for pedestrian protection. Inside, side airbags and curtain airbags altered how trims and pillars were packaged. The steering wheel and driver camera locations had to support ADAS without blocking sight lines.
When Mahindra refreshed or reimagined icons like the Scorpio and Thar, the risk was huge: lose the core and fans will walk. Keep it too retro and new buyers won’t feel it. Her teams kept the core intact—strong, upright, confident—but simplified lines, cleaned up surfaces, and made the cabins far more liveable. The result? SUVs that looked familiar from far away and felt new up close.
Design leadership is also about saying no. Not every feature makes the cut. Some ideas die in user clinics. Others fail durability tests. Budget forces hard calls on materials and features. Good leaders keep the product’s purpose clear and don’t let novelty outrun usability.
As EVs go mainstream, the center of gravity in design is shifting again. Aerodynamics has become a styling tool, cabin software is a brand signature, and quietness exposes every small squeak and rattle. The best EVs make silence feel premium, not sterile. That means careful tuning of materials, textures, and even the sound of closing doors. Expect her EV work to carry over the same fix-the-basics mindset.
There’s a cultural angle to all this too. For years, global brands set the taste. Today, Indian studios and leaders are shaping products for Indian roads and Indian buyers—and exporting that confidence. Ananthan’s path—from BITS Pilani to IIT Bombay to Mahindra to Ola Electric—tracks that change. It shows how local talent can drive global-quality outcomes without losing sight of local needs.
If you’re a young designer reading this, there’s a clear takeaway. You don’t need a single “eureka” moment. You need a process: understand the user, lock down proportions, iterate like crazy, and build the car around how people actually live. That’s how SUVs became smarter and more welcoming without losing their rugged soul.
And if you’re watching the EV race, keep an eye on how Indian design leaders set the tone. The next big leap won’t be a wild shape. It’ll be how simple and trustworthy the product feels on a Tuesday commute in peak traffic, in the rain, with a full family on board. That’s where design earns loyalty. That’s where careers like hers make the difference.
