German Ambassador to the U.S. Visits BMW Group's Silicon Valley Think Tank

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 16 -- The primary mission of the BMW Technology Office is to investigate leading-edge technologies in non-automotive fields, then transfer them to the corresponding departments in Munich which can make them available to BMW Group customers. Although the Palo Alto office's associates roam the entire U.S. in search of new technologies, one of their primary areas of focus is California's Silicon Valley, where the office is located. In fact, Palo Alto -- in close proximity to Stanford University, the Berkeley campus of the University of California, and leading technology companies -- is situated at a unique nexus where some of the most innovative thinking in the country takes place.

"Our associates are encouraged to frequent places where the technical community congregates," says Dr. Joachim Stilla, head of the Technology Office. "The unique local culture and technology-oriented outlook play an important role for us -- a technical symposium, local coffee shop, college campus or science club are all legitimate places of work for them. Although based in Silicon Valley, our associates also travel the U.S. freely to wherever the latest technology takes them. This constant interaction provides the basis for discovering the technologies we choose to investigate further."

New technologies are recognized and pursued at an early stage, yet always with an eye to their viability as future business propositions. "Working closely with the BMW Research and Innovation Center (FIZ) in Munich, we scan over technologies in broadly defined directions, as determined by our automobile business. That's how we narrow down the virtually endless number of possibilities without limiting the space necessary for creativity. That which ultimately survives the so-called 'proof of feasibility' is thus absolutely in line with BMW Group strategy," says Dr. Stilla.