German luxury carmaker BMW Group on Monday opened a new research and development (R&D) center at the headquarters of Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s third-largest carmaker, and plans to help South Korean auto startups expand overseas.
BMW establishes BMW Startup Garage, the group’s venture client unit, aimed at fostering innovation across all divisions of the automaker through collaboration with start-ups, at its expanded R&D center in Incheon, adjacent to the capital Seoul did. South Korea is the group’s fifth largest market in the world.
BMW is currently running this program in six countries: Germany, the United States, China, Israel, Japan and South Korea, evaluating startups as potential suppliers and long-term partners.
Last year, the company bought auto parts from South Korean suppliers for 6.5 trillion won ($4.7 billion). Since 2010, 30.8 trillion won has been spent on domestic auto parts procurement.
to strengthen cooperation
BMW will also strengthen cooperation with Korean suppliers on product development, while working with local companies, research institutes and universities to develop prototypes for GPS navigation systems, voice recognition and user interfaces (UI). .
The group will leverage its new R&D center at the BMW Driving Center on Yeongjongdo to introduce models and solutions optimized for South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, where demand for luxury cars is on the rise. I am aiming to do that.
Jochen Goller, member of BMW’s board of management, said the group will continue to invest to offer better products and services in South Korea, which was the fifth-largest market at last year’s opening ceremony. .
BMW plans to conduct various tests on the new model to ensure that it fully complies with regulations before launching it in the country. The company also aims to conduct its own certification exams at the facility within the next three to four years.
The company aims to improve vehicle performance and quality through intensive testing, while establishing a maintenance and management system and testing process for prototype vehicles before they are released.
In 2019, BMW announced plans to expand the research and development center it opened in 2015. The group began construction on the expansion in April last year.
Write destination Nan Sebin binthere@hankyung.com
Jung Jeong-woo edited this article.
