The BMW Group’s IT and Software Hubs: A key success factor for digital transformation and the software defined vehicle.

The digital transformation of the BMW Group permeates all value creation processes: from vehicle development to production and sales, it is a key factor in securing the company's future success. To strategically expand its digital expertise, the BMW Group has been building a growing network of international IT and software hubs since 2008, in addition to its central locations. Today, six hubs already complement the company’s global development network and benefit from a worldwide talent pool of technology and software experts.

These hubs serve two main purposes: First, they work on global IT projects across the entire value chain. Second, they develop software for the next generation of connected vehicles and are a key contributor for the Software Defined Vehicle strategy of the BMW Group, leveraging advanced software technologies to enhance performance, improve user experience, and enable seamless connectivity with various digital services. The hubs deliver software modules for all core vehicle systems, from powertrain and infotainment to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and connectivity with smartphones and the vehicle backend. At the same time, they are developing software platforms for future SDV technologies, making vehicles increasingly intelligent and high-performing.

The BMW Group’s global hub network currently encompasses six countries – from the USA to Portugal, Romania, South Africa, India, and China. There, experts work on digital solutions for all areas of the company, including future technologies such as cloud-based services and artificial intelligence. In doing so, they are not only advancing the BMW Group’s digital transformation but also securing the company's position as an innovation leader in an increasingly connected world of mobility.

The BMW Group’s global IT and software network relies on the proven DevOps method, where developers ("Devs") and operations ("Ops") work closely together. This agile approach shortens development cycles and improves software quality. Thanks to the global distribution of IT and software hubs, the BMW Group can work on new business IT solutions and vehicle software around the clock – leveraging the strengths of each location.

The BMW Group's international IT and Software Hubs are instrumental in advancing cutting-edge AI technologies across the entire value chain. With tools like JoyCode, an AI-assisted development platform, we enhance efficiency by streamlining our software development processes. In response to the rapidly evolving AI market, the BMW Group develops many of its AI components in-house, complementing them with off-the-shelf solutions. This approach ensures greater flexibility, reduces risks, and avoids early vendor lock-in. To support this strategy, dedicated AI development teams are established at every hub location. India is emerging as a focal point for AI development within the BMW Group, playing a leading role in both creating and applying AI technologies at scale.

Developing vehicle software presents a particular challenge: close to 40 GB of total software in the Neue Klasse contain more than 500 million lines of code. Over 10,000 developers from the BMW Group and its hubs collaborate globally. To ensure efficient, fast, and high-quality development, the BMW Group has built an integrated development environment with an innovative, customized toolchain called “CodeCraft”.
 

• The IT Hub South Africa in Pretoria, established in 2006, is the BMW Group’s largest global IT location and plays a key role in numerous IT projects. A major focus is the development of AI and Finance applications and the global rollout of SAP solutions.
  
  
• The IT Hub Americas in Greenville, near the BMW Group Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina, has provided customized IT solutions for production plants and sales markets in the region since 2013.
  
  
• Critical TechWorks, founded in 2018 as a joint venture with Critical Software, develops and operates IT applications for development, production, sales, central IT data platforms and Cyber Security, as well as software for all the main platforms in the vehicle, such as infotainment, body control, autonomous driving, connected backend and others at its three locations in Porto, Lisbon and Braga.
  
  
• In China, the BMW Group centralizes its IT expertise across two locations in Nanjing: Since 2021, LingYue Nanjing, a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW Brilliance Automotive, has been developing regional IT applications and Data & AI solutions. Also established in 2021, the joint venture BA TechWorks (partner: Archermind Technology) has focused on vehicle software specifically for the Chinese market.
  
  
• In Romania, the BMW Group has been represented since 2024: In Cluj-Napoca, the joint venture BMW TechWorks Romania (partner: NTT Data) works on European IT projects for development, procurement, production, and sales.
  
  
• Also in 2024, BMW TechWorks India (partner: Tata Technologies) was launched. With locations in Pune, Bangalore, and Chennai, it supports both regional IT rollouts and global IT projects – and also contributes globally to vehicle software development.