Harman bags Tata Motors Supplier of the Year 2014 Award

Harman International (India), the premium audio, infotainment and enterprise automation group, has been awarded with this year’s Tata Motors Supplier of the Year award. The award, which recognises the contribution and commitment of its most valued partner and involves a rigorous selection process, was given away OEM’s Annual Supplier’s Conference 2014 held in Mumbai on November 12.

Harman, which recently began operations at its all-new Chakan plant and will cater to vehicle manufacturers in  the region,  is a strategic technology partner for Tata Motors’ ConnectNext initiative to provide best-in-class infotainment and connectivity features for passenger vehicles.

“One of the key objectives of our four-pronged customer-focused approach of HorizoNext is to provide best vehicle experience and ConnectNext forms a strategic pillar in our product development cycle. With ConnectNext coming into play, we have worked with Harman towards offering a new, high-tech and segment leading user interface or customers to stay connected, at all times. We are delighted to partner with them in this endeavour,” said Mayank Pareek, president, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, TATA Motors.   

Earlier this year, Tata Motors launched the Zest sedan which houses a next-generation infotainment system designed and built by Harman (pictured above). The system was developed by the Harman R&D centres in Bangalore and Pune in India, and supported by the company’s global centres of competence in Shanghai and Germany.

The infotainment system in the Zest is an ideal example of premium technology being made available in mid-segment vehicles at an affordable price. The touch-screen system in the Zest is unique in its segment and offers best–in-class acoustic experience with eight speakers along with connectivity options such as AUX, USB, Bluetooth, voice recognition, message readout and steering operated controls.

Dinesh C Paliwal, Harman chairman, president and CEO, accepted the award on along with Harman country manager and managing director Lakshmi Narayan. “Harman is extremely proud to receive such a coveted award from Tata Motors, one of the largest automakers in the world,” said Paliwal “As the market leader in infotainment, Harman works hard to develop superior and differentiated in-car experiences for each of our OEM partners, and we are grateful to be recognized for our efforts. This is a great honor for HARMAN and, in particular, for our design, engineering and production teams in India.”

Narayan added, “This award represents years of collaboration and true partnership with the talented team at Tata. It comes at the perfect time as Harman further invests in our relationship with Tata and the ‘Make in India’ effort with the opening of our manufacturing facility in Pune. We are excited to deliver cutting- edge infotainment and audio solutions in the country that will benefit not only India but drivers around the world.”