Two global players, the BMW Group and commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN, call Munich and the Munich Metropolitan Region home. They are joined by a network of countless suppliers, specialists, developers and service providers.
Coveted and cared for they line the streets of Munich: High-performance saloon cars, spacious SUVs, snazzy convertibles and shiny motorbikes. The residents of Bavaria’s capital – gents and ladies alike – certainly have a passion for beautiful vehicles. Quite fittingly, the achievements of Munich’s automotive industry is part and parcel of the city’s economic success. In a geographically dense area, manufacturers, suppliers, service providers and research facilities create a true competency cluster.
Two global players, the BMW Group and commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN, call Munich and the Munich Metropolitan Region home. They are joined by a network of countless suppliers, specialists, developers and service providers, including key enterprises such as F. X. Meiller, Denso Automotive, Magna Steyr, Knorr-Bremse, Osram, iwis, Webasto, Infineon, Assystem and ESG. The nearby city of Ingolstadt is home to AUDI AG, another globally renown automotive brand. Therefore it is hardly surprising that one in four German cars is assembled in Bavaria. Munich’s car manufacturing industry counts roughly 50,000 employees, generating a revenue of 3,913 billion euros with an export quota of over 80 percent in 2016.
To meet the challenges of the future, members of the automotive industry work in close collaboration with exemplary research partners among Munich’s universities, colleges and research centres. Munich can leverage the expertise of 14 highly esteemed universities and technical colleges, including the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), the Munich University of Applied Sciences and the Bundeswehr University Munich (a university of the German Federal Armed Forces). Several departments of the TUM contribute to the Science Centre for Electromobility, a research centre of the Munich School of Engineering.
In the north of Munich, the extension of the BMW Research and Innovation Centre (“FIZ Future”) broke ground in autumn 2017. The “FIZ” is already a globally renowned innovation hub with 26,000 employees. The current site will be augmented by 26 hectares, creating space for new administration, research and workshop facilities as well as test rigs and design studios. Until 2019, the extended research centre should be able to offer 5,000 new jobs.
Initiated and backed by the state government, the Automotive Cluster with more than 600 companies and institutes from the automobile industry and other relevant fields of competence supports the consolidation of all innovative forces throughout Bavaria. It assesses topics of the future, assists in finding suitable business partners, organises support programmes and brings together regional, national and international leaders.
In addition, Munich is one of eight model regions for electric mobility. Together, the city’s municipal energy supplier SWM (Stadtwerke München), Siemens and the BMW Group are testing electric vehicles and setting up a network of charging stations. The City of Munich itself is equally promoting electric mobility with support programmes. Furthermore, SWM and the municipal transport services are gearing up to electrify their fleet.
Recent developments in the energy sector were presented in four distinct trade shows in 2018 marketed under the umbrella brand THE SMARTER E. The trade show, including the POWER2DRIVE EUROPE exhibition focussing on sustainable mobility solutions, is held every year at the Messe München fairground.
Anyone who has recently taken the A9 motorway between Munich and Nuremberg may have wondered what the new signs with geometrical symbols are for. Welcome to the digital proving ground for self-driving cars! In collaboration with BMW, Audi und Siemens, a segment of the A9 is being technically equipped to accommodate assistance systems and later even tests for fully automated cars. The aim is safe and unimpeded flow of traffic. Every year in autumn Messe München hosts the eMove360° Europe again, the world’s largest B2B trade fair for electric mobility and autonomous driving.
Power2Drive Europe | Interauto | EMove360° Europe
