Tata Technologies and BMW Group launch 50:50 joint venture for autonomous car solutions

Tata Technologies has pooled its product engineering and digital services capabilities with the automotive manufacturing strengths of Germany’s BMW Group to provide digital solutions for self driving vehicles (SDVs) with the official launch of their 50:50 joint venture, BMW TechWorks India, on Tuesday. 

The joint venture, with technology hubs in Pune, Bangalore and Chennai, will provide digital solutions for automated driving, digital infotainment and automotive digital services, in addition to automotive software. 

The joint venture was finalised after grant of all regulatory and other approvals. It will commence operations with 100 employees and reach four figure levels by the end of next year, according to a joint media release.

The venture is targeting India’s top engineering talent to provide digital innovations for expediting the digital transformation of the car manufacturer's global production network and also to strengthen its digital customer support and sales. 

BMW TechWorks India will also focus on developing AI applications and platforms that will increase the speed and efficiency of all core business processes of the BMW Group.

Tata Technologies CEO and MD Warren Harris, said the joint venture will bring together India’s top talent in digital technologies and help develop futuristic solutions that redefine mobility. 

Christoph Grote, BMW Group senior vice president of electronics and software, said, BMW TechWorks India will be key to the automaker’s global vehicle software development initiatives. 

While the joint venture counts on India’s software talent for engineering BMW’s software-defined vehicles of the future, it also offers young Indian professionals an unparalleled opportunity to work on breakthrough technologies on a global scale.

The management team of BMW TechWorks India has Aditya Khera as CEO and Sweta Girinatham as CFO, representing Tata Technologies and Stefan Flader as COO of Enterprise IT and Oliver Scheickl as COO of Automotive Software from the BMW Group, according to the news release.