JSW Motors and Tata Elxsi centre

JSW Motors and Tata Elxsi have opened JNEXT in Pune, a new technology center for connected, software-defined and artificial intelligence-led vehicles. (tataelxsi.com) The companies said the center will support JSW Motors’ new-energy passenger vehicle programs in India. They formalized the partnership through a memorandum of understanding announced on April 24. (tataelxsi.com) (manufacturingtodayindia.com) A software-defined vehicle works more like a smartphone than a traditional car: more features are controlled by code, and updates can arrive after delivery. Tata Elxsi said that lets automakers build, test and deploy new functions through a cloud-based development stack. (tataelxsi.com 1) (tataelxsi.com 2) In this deal, Tata Elxsi will lead the connected vehicle platform and a unified customer experience app for JSW Motors’ upcoming models. The company said it will own the platform end-to-end, from concept and integration to production and aftersales support. (prnewswire.co.uk) (moneycontrol.com) JSW Motors said the project fits its plan to build a technology-led, new-energy mobility business in India. Tata Elxsi tied the partnership to indigenisation, a term Indian manufacturers use for designing and sourcing more of the vehicle stack locally. (tataelxsi.com) (prnewswire.co.uk) The center also gives Tata Elxsi another anchor project in automotive software, an area it has been expanding with tools for over-the-air updates, validation and connected services. Its public materials describe Avenir as a cloud-native suite for software-defined vehicle development and deployment. (tataelxsi.com 1) (tataelxsi.com 2) JSW Group has been broadening its mobility ambitions beyond its core steel, energy and cement businesses. On its corporate site, the group says it has a $23 billion footprint and is pushing deeper into green mobility. (jsw.in) The immediate test for JNEXT is whether it can turn that software push into production vehicles and customer-facing services on JSW Motors’ next programs. For now, the companies have named the center, the city and the scope, but not a launch date for the first model. (tataelxsi.com)