BMW to engage in China smart city building

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- German automaker BMW Group intends to deploy in Chinese mobility market with the so-called “2 plus 4” strategy, said Jochen Goller, President and CEO of BMW Group Region China, at the 2018 International Forum (TEDA) on Chinese Automotive Industry Development.

The "2 plus 4" strategy is a China-focused strategy which was come up with based on future traffic and mobility development trend. To be specific, the "2" refers to the core businesses of the BMW and Mini brands. The "4" refers to BMW's strategies in 4 domains, namely, automation, connectivity, electrification and servitization, abbreviated to "ACES".

Jochen Goller said China has the potential to lead the world's AI area by 2030. The country has set clear goals for the development of NEV, digitalization and intelligent-connectivity and has achieved distinct advantages over other countries. In addition, a number of Chinese local companies have reached leading level in those fields. Therefore, he considers that China will be the first country that substantially achieves the smart city ahead of the U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile, BMW will actively engage in China's smart country construction.

Goller pointed out that BMW Group develops the autonomous vehicle aiming to make drivers use intelligent and safe cars in smart city. In May, BMW Group became China's first International automaker who obtained the license plate for autonomous vehicle road tests. Nearly two months later, BMW signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with tech giant Baidu to join its autonomous driving platform Apollo as a board member. He also revealed that the all-electric BMW X3, carrying the group's latest electric technologies, will be put into production in China after two years.