BMW announces establishment of new Chinese technology office in Shanghai

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai April 3) - BMW has announced the official establishment of its Chinese Technology Office in Shanghai, auto.ifeng.com reported today. The center will be responsible for the manufacturer's research and development in the Chinese market, and help boost its R&D capabilities in both Shanghai and the Asia region as a whole. Previously, the manufacturer has established a research institute in the city in March 2011 and a global innovation, design and consulting center later in April 2012.

The Shanghai Technology Office is the BMW's third, with the manufacturer having previously established similar sites in California and Tokyo. Together with those sites, the Shanghai center is a key part of the manufacturer's global R&D network. The US center is focused on the creation and application of network and multimedia technologies to improve driver experience, while the Japanese center specializes in researching drivetrain and battery technology.

The Shanghai center, for its part, will focus its research on providing solutions and services to deal with increased traffic congestion in major cities. China, being the world's largest automobile market, seems to be the ideal choice for such a site.

According to Carsten Isert, head of the Shanghai BMW Technology Office, the manufacturer is primarily interested in studying trends and technology in the Chinese automotive market, and seeing how they can be applied to its own products. Mr. Isert is keen to point out that the Shanghai center will focus on research of new technologies, while actual R&D for new models will be done at BMW's technology center in Shenyang, Liaoning.