(SEOUL=NEWSIS) BMW Group will open the BMW Driving Center in August in Yeongjong Island, Incheon.

The BMW Driving Center (240,000 ㎡), which is the size of 33 football fields combined, has a driving track, exhibition and hands-on activity areas and an eco-friendly park.

The Center owns 56 BMW and MINI models and expects to attract 200,000 visitors annually.

BMW Group Korea began building the center after the groundbreaking ceremony last June. Construction took 14 months, and a total of KRW 77 billion will be invested by 2020.

With the BMW Group Korea Training Academy in Suwon integrated into the Center, the Academy is 3.5 times bigger and provides services and brand training.

The BMW Driving Center in Korea is Asia’s first driving track and the third globally, following those in Germany and the United States.

The track (2.6 ㎞) has six courses, including the multiple, dynamic, circular, acceleration and braking, handling and off-road courses.

A driving facility for safety education, the first of its kind for BMW, was built based on the regulations of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for driver safety. Education is provided by 14 driving trainers.

BMW plans to establish a satellite research and development (R&D) center at the Yeongjong Island BMW Driving Center.

The satellite R&D center is the fifth, following those in the United States, China, Japan and Brazil.

The BMW R&D center in Korea will develop state-of-the-art technology for BMW and MINI models and provide automobile certification and safety tests.

The R&D center will swiftly respond to the requirements of the Korean market, such as the development of a new navigation system for BMW drivers in Korea.

Furthermore, the center will provide BMW ConnectedDrive services and applications, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), applications and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

"BMW Group and Korea are leading the innovation of automobiles, and we decided to open an R&D center in Korea to meet the high standards of Korean customers,” said Ian Robertson, a Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and Marketing BMW.

The Driving Center is BMW’s only center in the world with a driving gallery where visitors can experience every brand of BMW Group. The Center also includes an exhibition hall for displaying new models of BMWs, MINIs and Motorrads, a heritage gallery for classic BMWs and a driving experience lounge for program users.

The Center has education programs for children including Junior Campus and Kids Driving School, a repair center run by Bavarian Motors and an airport service through which BMW and MINI drivers can leave their cars at the center for repair and services while traveling abroad.

ijoinon@newsis.com