The BMW Group has partnered India's KPIT and Austria's TTech for software development, which further consolidates its partner network in the process.

The collaboration with KPIT and TTTech is aimed to move ahead with the scalable autonomous driving platform and to work together on the development of Level 3 and Level 4/5 functions (Highway Pilot and Urban Pilot).

BMW says this move will bolster the company's development resources for automated driving and represents another step forward in its quest to expand the platform’s ecosystem and establish the technology in the automotive industry.

KPIT and TTTech are well positioned to help roll out the software stack within the autonomous driving platform to third parties. This will facilitate integration for other OEMs and begin offering scalable software solutions across the industry.

Elmar Frickenstein, senior vice-president, Fully Automated Driving and Driver Assistance, BMW Munich, said: “Tackling this immense challenge calls for an all-embracing approach. This includes building strong alliances that allow us to gain valuable know-how and also speed things up. In order to achieve our objective in 2021, we are collaborating with the best technology partners in the world.”

Since July 2016, the BMW Group has been developing a network of world-leading technology partners to help expand the platform’s footprint. These include Intel, Mobileye, Continental, Magna, FCA, Aptiv and Baidu.