(SEOUL=NEWSIS) BMW Group and Incheon City signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on October 9 in Munich, Germany to expand cooperation and discover new projects.

BMW Group and Incheon agreed to strengthen mutual cooperation by establishing a research and development (R&D) center in the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), promoting a pilot project for electric vehicles and jointly conducting international events.

The city plans to collaborate with BMW Group to expand infrastructure for electric vehicles and develop eco-friendly projects, including a pilot project for electric vehicles, to transform Incheon into a global business city.

The R&D center will be BMW's fifth such satellite center, following those in Brazil, the United States, Japan and China. It will be established in the BMW driving center on Yeongjong Island next year. The center will have 20 researchers by 2017 and more than KRW 20 billion will be invested by 2020.

shoon@newsis.com

Source Text

Source: Newsis (October. 10, 2014)

** This article was translated from the Korean.