The BMW Group and NTT Data Romania signed an agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) in Romania. Planned for Cluj-Napoca, the new location will focus on the development and operation of IT solutions for the European region, the company said.

The joint venture is expected to employ around 250 software developers at the end of 2024, with plans to grow to a four-digit number of employees by 2027.

“The new location in Romania is intended to support the BMW Group IT in Europe and drive forward IT projects and innovations for production, development, human resources, sales, and BMW Financial Services,” reads the press release.

The execution of the JV contract is subject to review and approval by the relevant authorities.

Alexander Buresch, CIO and Senior Vice President of BMW Group IT, said: “With NTT Data, we are relying on another strong partner that has an excellent network in a lively technology region and enables us to build up additional software competencies quickly and in a targeted manner. In collaboration with companies like NTT Data we can establish strong IT hubs and thereby give an answer to the shortage of IT experts.”

Maria Metz, CEO at NTT Data Romania, added: “We are proud to announce our plans to open a new software development center for software solutions in Cluj-Napoca together with BMW Group. This collaboration aims to assist the carmaker in leading the digital transformation.”

The BMW Group and NTT Data have been collaborating across various projects for over 30 years.

BMW Group is already well advanced in digitizing the entire company and its internal and external processes, with IT & software hubs in Germany, the USA, South Africa, India, Portugal (Joint Venture Critical TechWorks), and China (LingYue Digital IT Co. Ltd. and BA TechWorks) strengthening its software expertise. Over 9,400 employees worldwide are currently working in IT and software development for the BMW Group and the joint ventures.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: BMW Group)