SEOUL, KOREA - BMW Group decided to set up a satellite R&D center in Korea. According to BMW Korea on July 14, the new R&D center will consist of 20 researchers, including those dispatched by the group headquarters, by 2015.
The new R&D center will be located at BMW Group’s Seoul office and the driving center in Youngjong Island. This will be the fifth R&D center for BMW Group, following the ones set up in the United States, China, Japan, and Brazil.
The R&D center will be responsible for BMW and Mini-related technology development and certification and safety tests. It will also be engaged in the research of connected drives, plus the development of a new navigation system.
Other tasks include the developments of auxiliary driving systems, applications and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
A BMW official said, “Korea is one of the countries with the highest level of technologies. Korean customers have high brand expectations. To provide better services to Korean consumers, we decided to set up the R&D center here in Korea.”