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New R&D center to help BMW meet torrid demand
By Gong Zhengzheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-01 08:01
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German premium carmaker BMW plans to build a research and development (R&D) center in China to enable its vehicles to better cater to local buyers.
Christoph Stark, president and CEO of BMW Group Region China, told China Daily that the carmaker is now finalizing details of the plan.
The R&D center in the northeastern city of Shenyang, where BMW runs a joint venture with Brilliance China Auto, will be one of the group's key R&D facilities globally.
Stark did not reveal the size of investment or development timetable for the center in China.
"We will have bigger production here in China, so we will modify more vehicles (to meet customer demands better)," he said.
Another role of the China R&D center is to provide feedback to decision makers and designers at BMW's global headquarters in Munich, he added.
BMW's major competitors - Audi and Mercedes-Benz - have not announced plans to build R&D centers in China.
In November BMW announced it has long-term plans to hike annual production capacity in China to 300,000 vehicles from last year's 41,000 units.
The strategy will require billions of yuan in investment to add production capacity at its joint venture with Brilliance and build a new plant in the years to come.
BMW and Brilliance will also build an engine factory in China.
The German carmaker announced earlier this month that it moved an all-time record 90,536 vehicles on the mainland last year, a 38 percent surge from 2008.
The sales, which made China BMW's fourth-largest market in the world, included 43,702 locally manufactured 3 and 5 Series sedans.
Stark said BMW will introduce many new products in China this year including the all-new locally produced long-wheelbase 5 Series as well as the imported X1 compact SUV.
The long-wheelbase 5 Series, only available on the Chinese market, is to be launched at the joint venture at the end of this year.
Stark said that BMW is "very confident" that the locally tailored 5 Series will be well received in China.
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"I believe competition (in China's premium car segment) will move more towards quality and services."
Last year, the number of authorized BMW dealerships on the mainland grew by 40 to 150, the automaker's fastest pace globally.
Stark said BMW will "keep up the same speed" this year adding new dealers in China.
"There are roughly 250 to 260 cities in China with a population of more than 1 million. We have not had dealerships in all of them."
