Kia India Introduces Industry-First Plant Remote OTA for Connected Vehicles
Kia India has launched an industry-first “Plant Remote Over-The-Air” (OTA) software update feature for its connected vehicle lineup, marking a major step in factory-digitisation and customer readiness. The update capability will be available on Kia’s models equipped with the Connected Car Navigation Cockpit (CCNC) system and allows vehicles to receive the latest software while still on the production line, before delivery to dealerships.
According to the company, the feature leverages controller-OTA functionality compliant with Connected Car System 2.0 (CCS 2.0) and ensures that cars are “ready to drive” with the latest software from day one. It is designed to eliminate the need for initial updates at the dealership and reduce manual intervention before the first customer use. mint
Atul Sood, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Kia India, said the initiative exemplifies the brand’s commitment to “seamless, intelligent, and future-ready” mobility.
Kia India also announced that the Plant Remote OTA feature will be expanded to all future connected models. With this rollout, the manufacturer strengthens its connected-car leadership in the Indian market and ensures its vehicles remain up to date from the moment they leave the factory.
Editor’s View
For the tyre and mobility supply chain, this move by Kia signals an important convergence of vehicle software and hardware systems, tyres included. As cars increasingly become “connected from birth,” tyre behaviour will no longer be only about materials and tread design but also about how tyre-data streams interface with vehicle control, load monitoring and predictive analytics.
When a vehicle arrives at the dealership already up to date, the expectations on runtime performance, integration of subsystems (such as TPMS, run-flat logic, wear sensors), and delivery of a zero-maintenance first drive increase significantly. Suppliers of tyres, sensor modules, and service analytics must therefore prepare for shorter lead-times, higher software-defined tyre components, and an ownership experience where the first kilometre matters.
