BMW strengthens its presence in China with the largest engineering team outside of Germany, strategic alliances and local innovation that drive global mobility
BMW has the largest engineering team outside of Germany in China and enjoys a very strong partner network in the country, Frank Weber, board member of BMW AG, said in an interview with Xinhua.
“We have more than 3,000 people working in engineering for BMW in four different locations in China. Currently, they are focused on all key areas of the vehicle. The main one is the creation of software in the digital part”, said Weber to Xinhua during the CES 2025 (Consumer Electronics Show), held this week in the city of Las Vegas, in the United States.
At CES 2025, BMW revealed its next-generation immersive smart cockpit, featuring the revolutionary new BMW Panoramic iDrive and the new BMW Operating System X.
Designed with Chinese users in mind, 70% of the BMW Operating System X source code has been developed and adapted to meet local needs.
“This reflects BMW’s deep understanding and commitment to the Chinese market, ensuring that the system’s core logic is perfectly aligned with local users,” the company said.
“BMW’s China R&D team has tripled over the past three years and will play a greater role in BMW’s global R&D. The core digital experiences of BMW Operating System
“Many customer-facing functions are developed specifically for China, in partnership with the innovation ecosystem and local technology companies, such as voice assistants, navigation, entertainment and gaming, and AI (artificial intelligence) functions,” Kahlenberg highlighted.
Weber highlighted that China is a very important market for BMW. “We do everything we can to have the most competitive products in this highly competitive environment.”
“It is also clear that Chinese customers are very interesting to us because they are ahead in their thinking and in the way they perceive the vehicle,” said Weber.
“We now have a very capable team, and 80% of the current digital system, including the infotainment system, is specific to China, and 70% of that is developed in China,” Weber explained to Xinhua.
China’s innovation capabilities are important not only for the country but also for the rest of the world, he noted.
“The speed at which innovation is seen in China, the willingness to take risks and the culture are creating a highly competitive innovation environment,” added Weber.
With information from Xinhua*
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/01/10/com-olhos-no-amanha-bmw-aposta-na-forca-da-china/
