Tata Motors partners with Microsoft for new car products

First Indian OEM to tie up with the tech giant for new products

Within two weeks of announcing an open platform strategy for developing passenger cars, Tata Motors Thursday said that it has tied up with global technology giant Microsoft to improve the in-car connected experience.

TAMO, the open platform from domestic automaker allows collaboration with various technology partners to launch low-volume niche products that can prove Tata Motors product development capabilities. This is a part for revamping product strategy of the company for the passenger car segment to safeguard itself from competition coming from technology giants such as Google and Uber.

"We are using Microsoft's connected vehicle technologies on Azure intelligent cloud to bring the digital lives of our customers into the cars they drive," said Guenter Butschek, CEO & MD, Tata Motors. The company will use Microsoft's connected vehicle technology along with AI (artificial intelligence, machine learning and IoT (internet of things) capabilities.

Microsoft announced the technology platform last year while announcing a similar partnership with Renault-Nissan. The platform is powered by Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing service for building, deploying, and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed data centers.

Other global automakers including Toyota, Ford also have similar technology tie-ups with Microsoft to develop technology-enabled new products. But in India Tata Motors is the first company to do so.

"We Expect 90% of new cars to be connected by 2020," said Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India. "Using IoT, AI and machine learning technologies, we will provide vehicle owners in India and across the world with a safe, productive and fun driving experience," said Maheshwari.

Tata Motors said that the first automobile with the enhanced experience will be showcased at 87th Geneva International Motor Show in March 2017. Tata will incorporate Microsoft's functionality in its user interface app and services suite.

The companies also detailed some of the features including the suggestion for restaurants, shopping and route assist tips for driver depending on the location and their profile. The platform will also provide timely alerts about the condition of the car to ensure that it is well maintained to minimise breakdowns.

Azure will enable FOTA and SOTA updates (firmware and software updates) in addition to the control of settings remotely over the cloud. The more the people use the platform, the more amount of data is captured and analysed, making it an improving experience for everyone.