Daimler and Beijing's Tsinghua University Expand Research Cooperation in China

BEIJING -- October 20, 2015: In September 2012, Daimler Greater China and Beijing’s renowned Tsinghua University started a joint Research Center for Sustainable Transportation. In the presence of Winfried Kretschmann, Prime Minister of Germany’s federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, on Monday both parties signed a contract about the continuation and further expansion of the research cooperation for another 3 years.

“The signing with Tsinghua University reiterates our commitment to better understand China and the needs of our customers”, said Prof. Dr. Ing. Hans Georg Engel, Head of R&D, Platform Management, Purchasing & Supplier Quality China. “Through our expanded partnership with Tsinghua University, one of China’s leading academic institutions, we will be able to even better optimize our products for use on China’s roads and so furthermore meet our Chinese customers’ specifications within our future product development.”

Today, Kretschmann together with Dr. Nils Schmid, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economics, visited Mercedes-Benz’s production facility in China, Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC) where the C-Class, E-Class, GLA, GLK as well as engines are being locally produced in China and for China.

The Research Center, funded by an annual contribution of more than 3 million RMB by Daimler, is supporting future-oriented research projects relating to sustainable transportation in the China-specific road environment context. This includes since 2012 active and passive safety systems, accident research, integrated traffic information services, vehicle infrastructure integration as well as megacity traffic and regulation research. With today’s signing the work scope of the Research Center has been extended by IT innovation, including Virtual Reality Technologies, and joint education and research internship projects, which target both young Chinese and international talents. Together with Daimler’s R&D experts in China, experienced scholars from Tsinghua University are co-leading all these research projects to contribute their strong local R&D capability and know-how. In addition, Tsinghua students are also involved in the projects, facilitating training and development of local talents in these fields.

“The Tsinghua-Daimler Center for Sustainable Transportation Research is a perfect collaboration between a first-class university and an outstanding company,” added Prof. Shi Yongjiu, Dean, School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering. “Such collaboration can leverage the top-level research capabilities with the most advanced industrial experiences and skills. I am confident that our win-win partnership can make a significant contribution to the scientific research, product development, and student educations in the field of sustainable transportation.”

The expanded research collaboration with Tsinghua University again shows Daimler’s clear commitment to R&D activities in China. Among the most recent milestones is the opening of the Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Center in China in November 2014 with a full-fledged Advanced Design Studio at its core. By the end of 2015, over 500 highly qualified engineers and designers will be working at the new R&D Center. In total, Daimler has most recently invested about 865 million RMB in its local passenger car R&D network in Beijing.