BMW said that the all-electric BMW i5 will be launched within this year, and the Chinese team is deeply involved in the research and development work
On July 18, 2023, the BMW Group opened its new Shanghai R&D Center, and with the continuous expansion and upgrading of BMW's R&D facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing, the BMW Group has established the largest and most complete R&D system in China outside the German headquarters.
At present, BMW has realized the full-process R&D function of automobiles and the software development capabilities of full-stack intelligent networked vehicles in China, and has implemented its corporate strategy based on China with practical actions.
Bofan Wei, BMW Group's Director of R&D, said: "The opening of the new R&D center and the upgrade of BMW China's R&D will enhance our strength. Over the past three years, our R&D team in China has tripled, and today we have more than 3,200 designers, engineers, NEVs and software experts who work closely with Chinese technology partners, start-ups, local partners and academia to create cutting-edge innovative technologies. China is the future, and China will play an even more critical role in BMW's global R&D network. ”
At present, the BMW Group's R&D network covers 17 countries, and BMW has the largest R&D and innovation network outside Germany in China, with the same advanced concepts, equipment, management processes and extensive joint innovation cooperation as Germany.
The Chinese team is deeply involved in the development of BMW's next-generation models
In April this year, the BMW Group further improved the management of the R&D department in China and appointed Dr. Lei Kai to be fully responsible for R&D in China, which strengthened the coordination of major R&D functions, enabling China to play an increasingly important role in BMW's global R&D network, and grasp future trends faster and more accurately to better serve the Chinese market.
According to BMW, in the 9th generation (BMW) operating system, China-specific functions account for 70% of the whole. At the same time, BMW's China R&D team is deeply involved in the design, development, testing and verification of the domestic innovative pure electric BMW i5.
It is reported that China is also the only country outside Germany to set up Skylab human-computer interaction design team and Usability Lab research laboratory, with all core design functions, covering user experience design, visual design, user research and human-computer interaction development, fully demonstrating BMW's systematic, accurate and advanced usability research methods based on simulation models. The research team consists of designers, software engineers and cognitive psychology experts. In the 9th generation (BMW) operating system research process, the research team is composed of experts with an average working experience of more than 8 years, joined by a doctor of cognitive psychology, and the research team has listened to the opinions of hundreds of users in China and other countries and regions in the past 15 months.
At present, BMW's R&D and design teams in China are deeply involved in many key tasks of BMW's new generation models, and many innovations in the Chinese market will become a highlight of the new generation models.
It is reported that in BMW's R&D network in the global market, except for Germany, only China has the full-process R&D function of automobiles.
We are going all out for electrification
As early as 2017, the BMW Group established the first battery center outside Germany with complete battery equipment and testing capabilities in China. Since its establishment, BMW Shenyang R&D Center has focused on electrification technology development and product localization calibration and verification, and has a history of 10 years. This year, the second phase expansion project of Shenyang R&D Center was officially opened, strengthening BMW's full-process development and verification capabilities for localized new energy vehicles. The facility has 19 new laboratories, 17 of which are dedicated to testing new energy vehicles.
It is reported that BMW has established the largest technical testing and verification system outside Germany in China. BMW Shenyang R&D Center has the world's leading EMC EMC laboratory. Compared with the industry's common electromagnetic test field strength of 30 volts / meter, BMW's test field strength can reach an average of 100 volts / meter, and the limit value can reach 140 volts / meter. BMW also has specialized NVH laboratories in Shenyang, including the Dyno laboratory and an outdoor test track for rigorous outdoor noise and interior noise testing. The BMW HVB Power Battery Verification Lab simulates real driving scenarios and extreme driving scenarios to rigorously verify battery performance. The power battery of the all-new BMW i3 has undergone 155 hardware tests and 994 software function tests.
Relying on China's complete R&D and testing layout of electric vehicles, BMW Group has launched domestic pure electric vehicles such as BMW i3, iX1 and iX3 in China, as well as imported pure electric products such as BMW i4, i7 and iX, and the innovative pure electric BMW i5 will also be unveiled within this year.