BMW, Tata join forces on software development

THE BMW Group and Tata Technologies, a global product engineering and a digital services company, have announced they have signed an agreement to form a joint venture which aims to establish software and IT development hubs in Bangalore, Chennai, and Pune, India.

The pair say the main development and operations activities shall be established at Bangalore and Pune with the focus in Chennai on IT business solutions.

The execution of the joint venture agreement remains subject to review and approval by the relevant authorities.

According to BMW and Tata, the joint venture will embody the ethos of ‘Engineer in India for the World’ and will leverage Tata Technologies’ digital engineering expertise and talent pool to contribute to the BMW Group’s “strategic expansion of software coding capabilities across global IT hubs and 24/7 operations”.

The joint venture is set to focus on strategic software development, including solutions for software defined vehicles (SDVs).

In automotive software, the focus will be on automated driving, infotainment and digital services, while in business IT, the emphasis will be on digitalisation and automation of product development, production and sales.

From the inception of this joint venture, 100 trained and experienced Tata Technologies professionals will ensure robust and immediate contribution to software projects.

The joint venture is likely to grow quickly to a four-digit staffing number in the following years.

“Our collaboration with Tata Technologies will accelerate our progress in the field of the software defined vehicle,” said BMW Group senior vice president of software and electronic engineering architecture Christoph Grote.

“In international comparison, India boasts a large number of talents with outstanding software skills, who can contribute to our software competence.

“Developing vehicle software for the BMW Group means working with top-class processes and tools, which in turn gives Indian software engineers the chance to shape state-of-the-art, premium automotive experiences in future fields such as highly automated driving and artificial intelligence.”

Mr Grote’s sentiments were echoed by those of his colleague and BMW Group CIO and senior vice president Alexander Buresch, who said: “The expansion of international Development Operation hubs has clearly proved to be a successful model for the BMW Group”.

“I am therefore extremely pleased that we have found a strong and valued technology partner with Tata Technologies and are now also expanding our footprint in India,” he added.

Commenting on the collaboration, Tata Technologies CEO and managing director Warren Harris said: “Our collaboration with the BMW Group demonstrates our commitment to providing top-tier solutions in automotive software and digital engineering to customers across the world”.

“Aligned with our vision of engineering a better world, we’re excited to bring our expertise to the forefront, aiding BMW Group in engineering premium products, delivering great digital experiences for their customers and propelling its digital transformation journey in Business IT,” he said.

Tata Technologies president of automotive sales Nachikey Paranjpe seconded the comments of his colleague, adding: “In the evolving automotive landscape, the journey towards software-defined vehicle represents a pivotal shift in automotive software and vehicle development methodologies”.

“We will leverage our deep domain knowledge and SDV expertise to collaborate with the BMW Group towards engineering vehicles that are not just technologically advanced but deliver exceptional experiences to consumers around the globe,” he concluded.