By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) Jul 20 -- BMW Group announced opening its new R&D center in Shanghai on July 18, saying it has the largest and most comprehensive R&D system outside of Germany in China and will play a more critical role in BMW's global R&D network.

BMW has over 3,200 R&D personnel so far in centers located in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Nanjing, and other cities. They will collaborate with the German headquarter on research and development.

As of December 31, 2022, BMW Group had a total of 149,475 employees globally. The group has four major brands: BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad, and provides automotive financial and luxury travel services. It has more than 30 production sites globally, with sales networks covering more than 140 countries and regions, according to BMW.

In 2022, BMW delivered approximately 2.4 million cars and over 202,000 motorcycles worldwide. In the 2022 fiscal year, the group's total revenue exceeded EUR142.6 billion ($159.92 billion), with pre-tax profits exceeding EUR23.5 billion ($26.35 billion).