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German luxury carmaker BMW will open a new research and development center in Korea within the year to better serve tech-savvy motorists in its ninth-largest market.
According to industry sources on Tuesday, the R&D center will be responsible for developing telematics and infotainment systems tailored to the Korean market, exchanging feedback with decision-makers and engineers at the BMW headquarters.
“As we have already operated a small team of researchers in Korea, the new facility will be the expansion of our ongoing R&D efforts,” said a BMW Korea official.
The official declined to further elaborate on the possible location or size of the planned facility, saying the Munich head office was finalizing details of the plan.
BMW currently has similar sites in California where research is carried out on multimedia technologies, while another center in Tokyo focuses on hybrid and battery technologies. The company operates three R&D centers in the crucial Chinese market alone.
Aside from facilities in Munich and China, BMW’s other R&D centers worldwide have teams of some 40 to 50 workers. Considering that, dozens of researchers are expected to be dispatched for the Korean center.
BMW’s new investment plan comes after its archrival Mercedes-Benz announced in November its plans to build an R&D center in Korea in the first half of this year. Currently, a team of four researchers is doing the initial study before the official opening.
BMW, the best-selling foreign car brand in Korea, has aggressively expanded its presence here beyond car sales.
The Korean unit has operated the charitable organization BMW Korea Future Fund and the education program Junior Campus ― two distinctive social contribution activities unprecedented in the nation’s import car industry.
In July, the BMW Driving Center, consisting of a race track and a brand museum, is also set to open on Yeongjongdo Island near Incheon International Airport. It is also the first of its kind outside Germany and the U.S., where the carmaker operates factories.
By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
According to industry sources on Tuesday, the R&D center will be responsible for developing telematics and infotainment systems tailored to the Korean market, exchanging feedback with decision-makers and engineers at the BMW headquarters.
“As we have already operated a small team of researchers in Korea, the new facility will be the expansion of our ongoing R&D efforts,” said a BMW Korea official.
The official declined to further elaborate on the possible location or size of the planned facility, saying the Munich head office was finalizing details of the plan.
BMW currently has similar sites in California where research is carried out on multimedia technologies, while another center in Tokyo focuses on hybrid and battery technologies. The company operates three R&D centers in the crucial Chinese market alone.
Aside from facilities in Munich and China, BMW’s other R&D centers worldwide have teams of some 40 to 50 workers. Considering that, dozens of researchers are expected to be dispatched for the Korean center.
BMW’s new investment plan comes after its archrival Mercedes-Benz announced in November its plans to build an R&D center in Korea in the first half of this year. Currently, a team of four researchers is doing the initial study before the official opening.
BMW, the best-selling foreign car brand in Korea, has aggressively expanded its presence here beyond car sales.
The Korean unit has operated the charitable organization BMW Korea Future Fund and the education program Junior Campus ― two distinctive social contribution activities unprecedented in the nation’s import car industry.
In July, the BMW Driving Center, consisting of a race track and a brand museum, is also set to open on Yeongjongdo Island near Incheon International Airport. It is also the first of its kind outside Germany and the U.S., where the carmaker operates factories.
By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
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Articles by Korea Herald
