Pune, Maharashtra: Agentic AI, software-defined vehicles, automated driving and virtual engineering dominated discussions at the MathWorks Automotive Conference 2026 India, which concluded on Wednesday at The Westin Pune Koregaon Park, bringing together executives and engineers from companies including Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Elxsi.
The conference focused on how automotive engineering organisations are incorporating artificial intelligence, Model-Based Design, simulation and virtual testing into increasingly software-heavy vehicle development programmes.
Engineers, researchers, industry leaders, MathWorks customers and partners, and representatives from academia attended the event, which examined the use of AI agents across the automotive development lifecycle while retaining requirements around safety, quality, engineering rigour and traceability.
Sessions covered scenario-based simulation for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS, virtual vehicle development and software-defined vehicle architectures supported by Model-Based Design.
Maruti Suzuki Executive Addresses Changing Automotive Development
Piyush Agrawal, Executive Vice President, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, delivered the customer keynote, discussing the transformation underway in the automotive industry and the growing importance of software, systems engineering and disciplined development processes in future mobility.
As vehicles acquire more software and increasingly complex electronic systems, the engineering challenge is no longer limited to what sits under the bonnet. A significant part of the development battle is now being fought in code, simulation environments and validation laboratories.
Wensi Jin, Global Automotive Industry Manager at MathWorks, delivered another keynote focusing on how Model-Based Design combined with Agentic AI could help engineering teams deal with increasing system complexity and improve productivity.
AI Agents Move Beyond Experimental Stage
MathWorks said discussions at the conference indicated that automotive organisations are beginning to examine practical uses of AI agents rather than treating the technology solely as an experimental tool.
“MathWorks Automotive Conference 2026 India highlighted the growing interest in applying Agentic AI to automotive engineering workflows,” said Sunil Motwani, Country Manager – Sales and Service, MathWorks India. “The conversations reflected how organizations are moving beyond experimentation and exploring how AI agents can assist engineers throughout the development lifecycle while meeting the quality and safety requirements essential for automotive systems.”
A major theme was the potential role of AI agents in supporting engineers rather than simply automating isolated tasks.
Sessions examined their possible application in verification and validation work, including model inspection, requirements analysis and testing. Such workflows are intended to improve engineering efficiency while maintaining the verification standards required for safety-critical automotive systems.
Mahindra, Tata Elxsi and Industry Experts Discuss Virtual Engineering
Experts from Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Elxsi, Madras Engineering Industries Pvt. Ltd. and other organisations presented examples involving cloud-native simulation, virtual experiments, AI-assisted Model-Based Design and virtual testing.
The conference also considered how simulation-led development could allow engineering teams to test vehicle systems and software virtually before moving deeper into physical validation.
A panel discussion addressed emerging applications of Agentic AI along with governance and validation issues, as well as the changing responsibilities of engineers as automotive development becomes increasingly software-driven.
The discussions reflected a wider shift in automotive engineering, where software development, systems integration and virtual verification are becoming closely intertwined with traditional mechanical and electrical engineering.
Technology Showcase Demonstrates AI-Assisted Workflows
A Technology Showcase held alongside the conference featured live demonstrations covering AI-assisted engineering, automated driving development, virtual vehicle development, software-defined vehicle architectures and battery thermal management system design.
Demonstrations also included software factory workflows developed using MATLAB and Simulink, MathWorks’ engineering and simulation platforms.
The emphasis on virtual development is particularly significant as modern vehicles incorporate a growing number of interconnected electronic and software systems, increasing both engineering complexity and the amount of testing required before production.
The MathWorks Automotive Conference 2026 India ultimately highlighted an industry attempting to balance two competing demands: developing increasingly sophisticated vehicles faster while ensuring that safety, verification and engineering discipline do not get lost in the rush toward AI-assisted development. As software becomes a defining element of the automobile, the engineer’s toolbox is expanding well beyond the traditional workshop — and increasingly into simulation models, software factories and AI-assisted workflows.
