Tata Tech forms JV with BMW to develop automotive software 

The BMW Group and Tata Technologies Ltd have signed an agreement to form a joint venture (JV) that will set up an automotive software and IT development hub in Pune, Bengaluru, and Chennai. 

The JV will leverage Tata Technologies’ digital engineering expertise and talent pool to contribute to BMW’s strategic expansion of software coding capabilities across global IT hubs and 24*7 operations. It will focus on strategic software development, including solutions for software-defined vehicles (SDV). 

The financial details of the agreement were not shared.

Shares of Tata Tech jumped around 6% from the previous session’s closing in intraday trading on BSE on Tuesday while the benchmark Sensex was down 0.25% at 2.30pm.

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

Warren Harris, chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Technologies, said, “Our collaboration with BMW 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.”

The JV will start with 100 Tata Tech professionals working on software projects, and is likely to grow quickly to a four-digit number in the following years.

The main development and operations activities shall be established in Bengaluru and Pune while in Chennai, the focus will be on business IT solutions.

Nachiket Paranjpe, president of automotive sales at Tata Technologies, said, “In the evolving automotive landscape, the journey towards software-defined vehicles represents a pivotal shift in automotive software and vehicle development methodologies. We will leverage our deep domain knowledge and SDV expertise to collaborate with BMW towards engineering vehicles that are not just technologically advanced but deliver exceptional experiences.”

Christoph Grote, senior vice-president of software and electric/electronic architecture at BMW, said the collaboration will accelerate the company’s 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,” Grote said. 

“The expansion of international DevOps hubs has clearly proved to be a successful model for the BMW Group. I am pleased we have a strong and valued technology partner with Tata Technologies and are now expanding our footprint in India,” said Alexander Buresch, CIO, and senior vice-president of BMW Group IT.

DevOps is a method of software development that improves collaboration between developers (Dev) and operators (Ops) to enable faster and more efficient delivery of software and services.

Tata Technologies, a subsidiary of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group, is a product engineering and digital services firm focused on providing software solutions to manufacturers. 

The BMW Group, which owns automobile brands such as BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce, started its own automotive software development over 20 years ago. Since then, it has continuously expanded its global network of development teams for both automotive software and business IT solutions.  In total, over 9,400 people work in IT and software development for the BMW Group and its joint ventures worldwide.