Who is Ramkripa Ananthan, the woman who designed new Mahindra Thar, XUV 700 & more?

Mahindra Thar is one the most desired SUVs in the country and since the debut of its 2nd-gen model, the lifestyle utility vehicle has hit new heights. The waiting list for the Mahindra Thar is currently at an all-time high due to the car's high demand. Even though the Mahindra Thar has a long history, there were still a few crucial elements that were holding it back from being a popular choice. With the 2nd-gen Thar, Mahindra checked all the appropriate boxes.

Although many people contributed to the success of the new Mahindra Thar, Ramkripa Ananthan, commonly known as Kripa Ananthan, deserves special recognition. A well-known name in the auto business, Ramkripa Ananthan assisted Mahindra in revolutionising the SUV market. Ananthan, presently serving as Head of Design at Ola Electric, was the principal designer of three popular Mahindra models - Mahindra Thar, Mahindra XUV 700 and Mahindra Scorpio.

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Ramkripa Ananthan was hired by Mahindra & Mahindra Limited after graduating from IIT Bombay's Master of Design programme. She obtained her Mechanical Engineering degree from Birla Institute of Technology. Ananthan began her work in 1997 at Mahindra as an interior designer. She was named Head of Design in 2005, and it was around this time that she created the well-known Mahindra XUV 500 SUV.

After almost 10 years in that role, Ramkripa Ananthan was promoted to the role of Chief Designer after which she recreated iconic designs for three products- Thar, XUV 700, and Scorpio.

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Along with foreign teams located in Ssangyong and MANA, Ananthan also created a personal vehicle portfolio by releasing the Mahindra XUV 300 compact SUV and the Marazzo MPV. In 2019, Ramkripa Ananthan was appointed Chief of Design at Mahindra, a position she held for only two years before departing to create her own design company, the KRUX Studio.

The Two2 is a micro-mobility concept car from The KRUX Studio that was built of repurposed components. Ananthan has recently joined Ola Electric as Head of Design. We haven't seen any of Ananthan's ideas in the portfolio of EV manufacturers since Ola hasn't released any of the goods it recently began creating.

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• IIT Bombay
• Mahindra
• Mahindra Scorpio
• Mahindra Thar
• Mahindra XUV 700
• Ramkripa Ananthan
• Ola Electric