"China is an Important Source of Innovation" (Witnessing China's Opportunities) Economy | Automotive Industry | Opportunities
"China's continuous expansion of opening up to the outside world has provided good opportunities for foreign-funded enterprises to develop in China, and the automotive industry is a good example." Gao Le, President and CEO of BMW Group in Greater China, recently stated in an interview with our reporter that China's adherence to opening up has promoted the development and growth of the automotive industry and cultivated a strong supply chain system. BMW Group will continue to increase technological innovation and actively integrate into China's high-quality development.
Gaole stated that as China continues to optimize its business environment and relax foreign market access, the attractiveness of the Chinese market continues to increase, bringing important opportunities for many multinational enterprises, including BMW Group, to expand their business in China. He introduced that since 2010, BMW's Shenyang production base has received a cumulative investment of nearly 100 billion yuan; The contract of the joint venture BMW Brilliance has been extended until 2040; In May of this year, BMW's sixth generation power battery project fully started construction, with a total investment of 10 billion yuan... A series of measures fully reflect BMW's determination to deeply cultivate the Chinese market.
China's high-quality development has enhanced the level of international cooperation and attracted various business entities, including multinational corporations, to participate. Gao Le said, "China's continuous expansion of opening up to the outside world has brought about mutual benefit and win-win results. This not only helps cultivate a strong market, but also helps promote high-quality economic development. BMW Group is committed to achieving mutual creation and win-win with local partners in the process of participating in high-quality development in China." Currently, BMW Group has more than 460 local suppliers in China. On the one hand, BMW Group actively supports the development of local industrial clusters in Shenyang, promotes employment, and promotes technological innovation through technological cooperation; On the other hand, fully leveraging China's development advantages in electrification, digitization and other fields, promoting technological innovation and high-end intelligent manufacturing, and achieving continuous development of the group. BMW Group has established the largest R&D and digital system outside of Germany in China, including four innovation bases in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Nanjing. In the past three years, the number of BMW Group's R&D team in China has tripled. Currently, there are over 3200 designers, engineers, new energy vehicles, and software experts working closely together to create cutting-edge innovative technologies, all of which reflect our high-quality development in innovation.
Gao Le stated that sustainable development and green economy are becoming increasingly important and bring more opportunities. Circular economy is one of the areas for cooperation and win-win outcomes between Germany and China. The first BMW China Sustainable Development Report recently released by BMW Group shows that in 2022, the water resource consumption per domestically produced model of BMW Brilliance China was 1.77 cubic meters, a decrease for five consecutive years; Through cooperation with Chinese partners, we have achieved closed-loop recycling of retired domestic power battery raw materials for the first time; BMW Shenyang Production Base has been rated as a national level green demonstration factory in China for six consecutive years... Gao Le stated that BMW Group will integrate sustainable concepts throughout the entire product lifecycle, and through the concept of circular design, innovative materials and technology empowerment, significantly increase the proportion of renewable and recyclable materials used in new products, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions throughout the product lifecycle.
"The growth of the Chinese automotive industry reflects the process of China's economic transformation. The Chinese market is no longer just a sales market, but also a pioneer market for innovation." Gao Le said that China has become the world's largest new energy vehicle market, leading the world in battery manufacturing, electric vehicle components, and other aspects. In recent years, the cooperation between Germany and China in the automotive industry has been good, and the cooperation between the two countries' enterprises in the field of new energy vehicles has continued to deepen. BMW Group will offer 11 pure electric products in the Chinese market this year, and it is expected that at least 50% of BMW Group's sales will come from pure electric models by 2030.
"In the past 30 years, BMW Group has adhered to the 'home in China' strategy, grown together with the Chinese market, and made positive contributions to deepening cooperation between Germany and China." Gao Le said that the Shenyang production base has become the largest production base of BMW Group in the world. "For BMW Group, China is an important source of innovation. We will fully leverage China's leading position in innovation, continuously promote technological innovation, and truly achieve 'in China, for China, for the world'."