TATA Motors rides with HARMAN
Next generation HARMAN infotainment system to power TATA’s new car launches – BOLT & ZEST
GENEVA – March 4, 2014 – Tata Motors’ brand new cars launched in Europe at the Geneva Motor Show 2014, will feature next generation infotainment system designed and built by HARMAN. After two years of intense development driven from the HARMAN R&D centers in Bangalore and Pune, supported by the global centers in Shanghai & Germany, HARMAN is proud to present a made-for-India infotainment system that takes in-car connectivity to the next level.
Tata Motors unveiled two all-new cars at Geneva – the sporty, dynamic premium hatchback, BOLT and the classy sedan, ZEST, that look to redefine the passenger car market with new design aesthetics, segment-defining drive experience and high-tech infotainment system. HARMAN’s infotainment system reflects TATA’s ConnectNext principle, a paradigm shift in the human-machine interface and in how end-users connect with their cars and to the outside world.
The launches in 2014 are equipped with 2 variants – a connected radio with enhanced GUI experience through a display and a multi-media navigation-ready 5 inch infotainment colour display. Moving forward with the recent launches from Tata Motors, HARMAN infotainment systems will provide entertainment, navigation, and connectivity for the company’s entire range of passenger cars.
“HARMAN is delighted with our long term association with Tata Motors and with the infotainment and acoustics experience, we are excited of offer tremendous value to the Indian automotive consumer. Our mutual goal is to provide customers a rich connected driving experience, which will play a central role in realizing the new vision of connected cars at Tata Motors,” said M. Lakshminarayan, Country Manager and Managing Director, HARMAN India.
From the year 2009, Tata Motors and HARMAN have been exploring various platforms and strategy for their car division. In early 2012, Tata Motors and HARMAN entered into a partnership to develop a class-leading infotainment & acoustics experience for cross carline needs of Tata Motors. This partnership has grown in strength since 2009 when HARMAN entered the automotive space in India.
According to Mr. Ankush Arora, Senior Vice President, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit (Commercial), Tata Motors, “Recognizing the dynamic consumer world where connectivity is an increasing need for all, Tata Motors has associated with HARMAN for designing the infotainment package for our next generation cars, starting with the Zest and the Bolt. With ConnectNext, we aim to deliver a new level of driving and ownership experience as users from their own smart device, can not only enjoy superior quality of entertainment, control the deliverance of all ergonomics, acoustics and climatic needs, but also get access to outside world seamlessly, with a touch. Forming the core of the ConnectNext experience is the all-new HARMAN infotainment system with first-in-class features that will allow the car users to stay connected with friends, family and the world. We are delighted to work with HARMAN to offer best-in-class infotainment features and hope to take our in-car tech features to the next level.”
HARMAN's premium infotainment unit will deliver Tata car drivers a seamless connected experience in the car, combining internet connectivity, advanced voice recognition, enhanced navigation and productivity applications — all safely and intuitively — allowing drivers to easily stay connected to the world around them. HARMAN’s modular software and hardware architecture allows the reuse of functional blocks, from mid to entry level in a cross platform approach, ensuring the infotainment system is designed to cost and appeal. In addition, with its scalable platform, the system is also “future-proof” and is built to add/remove industry relevant apps easily as new apps are made available. For example, Samsung Drive Link, MapmyIndia navigation or a brand new social networking application can be interchanged as per customer preferences; ensuring new offerings are available to customers on demand.
Key innovative infotainment system features include:
- 5-inch touchscreen supporting rich multimedia experience
- Support for a diverse range of Multimedia devices over various connectivity mediums including USB, Bluetooth, Auxiliary audio and advanced smartphone integration.
- Advanced Bluetooth technology
- Smart voice recognition
- Social media integration and touch phone controlled interface.
- Industry leading smartphone integration supporting phone enabled navigation, internet radio and podcasts for a rich and seamless connected driving experience.
- Communication with apps residing on the smartphone opens a gamut of possibilities to extend functionality of the system and keep pace with the relevant trends in the mobile world. For example, the infotainment system will support smartphone based remote control for rear seat passengers and smartphone based navigation screen mirroring implemented using HARMAN proprietary technologies in conjunction with our partners.
- HARMAN audio system will offer Tata customers an unmatched listening experience with our acoustics solutions including microphones and speakers.
HARMAN at Geneva Motor Show 2014:
Visit HARMAN during the Geneva Motor Show 2014 at its joint booth 6240 with Rinspeed in hall 6 for a demonstration of HARMAN’s portfolio of infotainment and in-car audio solutions. Follow HARMAN online during the Geneva Motor Show 2014:
- Find more Geneva news at the HARMAN Newsroom
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About HARMAN
HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of infotainment and audio solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson® and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,800 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.7 billion for the last twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
For further information please contact:
HARMAN
Nicole Mehr
Director Corporate Affairs and Communications Europe
Becker-Göring-Str. 16
D-76307 Karlsbad
Phone: +49-7248-71-1272
Text 100
Robert Zormeier
Nymphenburger Str. 168
D-80634 München
Phone: +49-89-998370-17
© 2014 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without
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