BMW Enters JV With Tata to Boost Software Development

BMW is entering a joint venture with Tata, owner of Jaguar Land Rover, to accelerate their automotive software capabilities through the creation of several digital technology centers in India.

The automaker groups will create development and operations activities at hubs in Bangalore and Pune while the hub in Chennai will focus on business IT solutions.

The JV will use Tata’s digital engineering expertise and talent pool in India to contribute to BMW’s expansion of software coding capabilities across its global IT hubs. It will focus on strategic software development, including solutions for software-defined vehicles.

A big focus of the JV's automotive software will be on autonomous-driving features, infotainment and digital services. In business IT, the emphasis will be on digitalization and automation of product development, production and sales. While 100 employees of Tata will be involved in the hubs at inception, the companies expect this figure to reach into the thousands in coming years.

Christoph Grote, senior vice president of software and electrical/electronic architecture at BMW, says: “Our collaboration with Tata Technologies will accelerate our progress in the field of the software-defined vehicle. 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.”