Expansion of Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Center in China continues under new management
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- Prof. Dr. Hans Georg Engel takes over as Head of Mercedes-Benz Research & Development China with a wider scope of responsibilities
- Over 500 staff at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Center in Beijing by the end of 2015 – about 40% increase since opening in 2014
- Variety of departments and functions at R&D Center in Beijing is a clear sign of Daimler’s dedication to Chinese customers
BEIJING/STUTTGART -- Sept 30, 2015: The Mercedes-Benz
Research & Development Center in Beijing is under new leadership as of
October 1, 2015. Prof. Dr. Hans Georg Engel follows Klaus Mannsperger as
the head of Daimler’s Chinese R&D facilities. In his new
position, Engel will oversee a growing number of departments and functions
with a broad range of research and development activities: apart from the
current responsibilities, this new role now also includes program
management, procurement, and supplier quality management, which are
essential levers in successful product development. Engel was previously
responsible for compact car development at Mercedes-Benz Cars Development
in Sindelfingen and brings valuable expertise in this field to his new
position. Mannsperger, who built up the company’s R&D activities
in Beijing over the past nine years, is taking over new responsibilities at
the Daimler and Renault-Nissan Alliance joint venture in Aguascalientes,
Mexico.
The change in leadership comes at
a time of continuous expansion for Mercedes-Benz Research & Development
China: after opening its new R&D Center in Beijing in November of 2014,
by the end of this year the head count will increase by 40 percent to over
500 highly qualified engineers and designers. Currently, around 85 percent
of the workforce is Chinese; the remaining 15 percent of the team consists
of experts from a dozen different countries. In total, Daimler has invested
about 865 million RMB in its local passenger car R&D network in
Beijing.
The company first established
Research & Development in China by localizing assembly of the
Mercedes-Benz E-Class in 2006. In order to better focus on the needs of
Chinese customers, Daimler has continuously increased its scope of work and
headcount at the Beijing R&D facilities. In 2009, Mercedes-Benz was the
first German premium car manufacturer to open an Advanced Design Studio in
Beijing, which was integrated into the new R&D Center in Beijing in
2014.
State-of-the-art
Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Center in Beijing
Up to now, the Mercedes-Benz R&D Center in
Beijing has consisted of six departments: ‘Mercedes-Benz Advanced
Design’, ‘Localization & Development’,
‘Powertrain & Testing’, ‘Safety, Comfort, Regulatory
Affairs and IP’, ‘Telematics and Infotainment’,
‘Trends, Research and Innovation’. The increased
responsibilities under Engel’s management – program management,
procurement, supplier quality management – are a clear sign of
Daimler’s commitment to the Chinese market.
The ‘Trends, Research and Innovation’ division,
for example, analyzes local customer profiles and tracks developments in
Chinese society in order to translate them into intelligent product
solutions and concepts. The spectrum of the China-specific product features
that are in focus clearly moves beyond just long-wheelbase product
versions. It also includes, for instance, ergonomics and storage concepts
as well as market-specific air climate solutions.
Additional functions have also been established with the
Beijing Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studio, which is one of the
company’s most modern and comprehensive design studios worldwide and
a local seismograph for design, cultural and mobility trends as well as an
integral part of Daimler’s global design network. For instance,
experts in the recently established ‘Color and Trim’ unit focus
on local preferences concerning fabrics and colors used inside the
passenger vehicles. To match Chinese customers’ expectations
regarding in-vehicle user systems, such as the ability to enter handwritten
Chinese characters or use China-specific internet services, the ‘User
Interface Experience’ team implements cutting-edge technologies into
the car.
Global research and
development network
Group
Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development employs a workforce of 15,750
at 21 facilities in 10 countries worldwide, with a total R&D investment
of more than 11 billion Euros in 2013/2014. The company’s global
R&D headquarters is located at Sindelfingen and Untertürkheim near
Stuttgart.
Besides the new facility in
Beijing, Daimler’s global R&D network includes two more
international Competence Centers: specialists at Sunnyvale in the USA focus
on innovations for the so-called “digital drivestyle”, and
Bangalore in India is home to the Competence Center for digital product
development and IT.