BMW is working flat out on alternative drives.
Now the developers of gasoline, diesel, hybrid and electric vehicles are under one roof for the first time.
The
carmaker
are considering alternative drive systems worldwide face major challenges.
The Munich-based
BMW
group is therefore also investing billions in research and development.
On Friday, Bayern opened
FIZ
Nord in Munich.
Developers of combustion engines and e-cars are now working there for the first time under one roof.
Munich -
BMW is
taking a further step in the direction of digitization of the car industry: The car manufacturer opened the new center of its global research and development network in
Munich
on Friday
.
This is the first time that all developers of vehicle drives are working under one roof, the company announced on Friday, from gasoline and diesel to fully electric vehicles.
The
FIZ
Projekthaus Nord, which
opened on Friday,
is the heart of the Group's Munich Research and Innovation Center (FIZ), it said.
BMW
opened
the
FIZ in
1990 and has continuously expanded it since then.
Including the new building complex, the area in the north of Munich is now one of the largest research and development locations in Europe.
Did you know that FIZ - our R&I Center in Munich - is a place of groundbreaking #innovations?
As early as 1969 it was producing the #electric test cars later used in the 1972 Summer Olympics.
And in 1978 its engineers worked on the first #hydrogen vehicle, a #BMW 520! #BMWGroup pic.twitter.com/nmpsiSqokd
- BMW Group (@BMWGroup) September 24, 2020
BMW boss Zipse: Investments in FIZ correspond to the construction of a new plant
BMW
CEO
Oliver Zipse
said the project falls into the “Mega, Giga, Unique” category and, with an investment of one billion euros, is “one of the largest projects of this decade” in the group.
The investment corresponds to a new vehicle plant and is a commitment to
Munich
and Germany
as a development
location
.
With the expansion,
BMW
is making
its development fit for the period after 2030 in order to bring the digital technologies of the day after tomorrow into series production, said Zipse.
Today 27,000 employees work at the Munich FIZ, from engine developers to designers, bodywork experts, chassis specialists and software engineers to physicists, chemists and materials researchers.
All
BMW
,
Mini
and
Rolls-Royce
models
are made there.
In the
future, 5,000 vehicle developers will work in the
new
FIZ North
.
+
BMW: In the new FIZ Nord in Munich, all drive developers are working under one roof for the first time.
© Company / Nicolai Schneider
BMW boss: The automotive industry leads the way in investing in research and development
Zipse said: “We are investing specifically in high-tech jobs and future technologies.
These support our business model in the long term. ”The automotive industry invests more money in research and development than any other industry.
“The German manufacturers account for more than a third of total global spending.”
BMW
alone will invest around 30 billion euros by 2025 and is one of the largest IT employers in Europe.
“We use self-learning algorithms to optimize electronic energy management in vehicles.
In this way, we reduce driving-related CO2 emissions, ”said Zipse.
The FIZ complex has 20,000 servers.
For the first time, all developers of gasoline engines and electric drives worked under one roof at FIZ Nord.
(dpa / utz)