BMW Shanghai: Driving in mega cities, designing the future and more

A few days before the Shanghai Motor Show kicked off, we were part of an international group of media that was invited to have a look at the BMW Designworks Shanghai Studio and ConnectedDrive Lab facility. The building that BMW found to house its Chinese think tank is in a lovely part of Shanghai known as the former French Concession. The late 1890s and early 1900s French architectural style, brick-paved streets and tree-lined spaces feel a world apart from the ultra-modern heart of Shanghai, and the BMW enclave is a suitable mix of high-tech and throwback cool.

We were visiting, in short, to understand just why BMW has found it important to have design and research capability in China. As it turns out, answering those questions also served to shed some light on the Chinese auto market as a whole – what it looks like today and where it's going over the next few years.

Of course, the basic idea of developing new facilities and human resources in a foreign market is to be able to better design and build cars for that market. In terms of design, this isn't a new concept. In terms of BMW design, and more specifically its DesignworksUSA team, the concept has been a reality for more than ten years now. In Shanghai, the process is just getting going, with the BMW team getting a late start, setting up shop just last year.

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