Why does BMW regard China as the frontier of autonomous driving research and development?

Because there is a big car market in China. On the 20 19 BMW Innovation Day held in China that day, Mr. Gao Le, President and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, revealed that in the first half of this year, BMW Group sold 350,000 vehicles in the China market, achieving a year-on-year growth of about 17%. Another noteworthy figure is that the average age of car owners in China is 36, the youngest in the world. The subtext is that most BMW owners in China are young "digital generation". It is also the most fundamental. Compared with other markets in the world, China's innovative environment makes it possible for BMW to develop autonomous driving.

China market is the largest market of BMW Group in the world. One out of every five BMW cars is made in China. China is also the fastest-growing research and development center of BMW Group. Nowadays, users in China have a high demand for digital technology, and more and more China companies are becoming innovation leaders in digital and electrification technology, and China is constantly promoting this change and innovation.

China is at the forefront of the development of autonomous driving. People in China are enjoying the convenience brought by innovative technologies such as mobile payment, e-commerce, online ride and Internet of Things. BMW's young customers are open-minded and actively seek new lifestyles. China customers are more willing to accept functions such as self-driving, and more than half of China consumers are willing to buy self-driving cars, compared with less than 40% in the United States and Britain. 90% of consumers in China are looking forward to the autonomous driving experience. China has opened the autopilot test area and issued autopilot licenses. For example, at present, Beijing has divided 44 roads in Daxing, Shunyi and Haidian, with a total length of 123 km, which are used for autonomous driving test.

China has the most complicated traffic environment in the world. If the autonomous driving solution can be applied to the road traffic situation in China, it will be of great significance to the global technical application of autonomous driving. In the long run, China is expected to become the largest self-driving car market in the world. According to market research institute IHS Markit, by 2040, China will sell more than 654.38+04 million self-driving cars, accounting for 44% of the total global sales. In addition, China has become the largest market for new energy vehicles and on-demand travel.