Daimler has secured a key asset for the development of its strategy for "the mobility of the future" by acquiring a new testing center near its corporate headquarters in Stuttgart, Caroline Anstett, project manager for research and development at Daimler AG's new Immendingen test site, told Xinhua on Thursday.
"The test and technology center plays a major role in the development of the mobility of the future," stated Anstett.
Daimler intends to test the segments of connectivity, autonomous driving, car sharing and electric drives in particular on the new site.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new test center on Wednesday, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche highlighted that the German carmaker wants to relocate up to 80 percent of test drives currently performed on roads in southern Germany to Immendingen.
The new center was built on the area of the abandoned German military location Immendingen and has an area of more than 520 hectares. On the site, 30 different types of roads have been constructed, ranging from gravel roads to motorways. The planning and construction time for the new center was around seven years.
Daimler has invested more than 200 million euros (235.3 million U.S. dollars) into the new test site, creating 300 jobs.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who attended the inauguration ceremony, emphasized the economic importance of the new Daimler location for the region.
"Immendingen has gained a completely new economic perspective with the set-up of a state-of-the-art technology center," she said.
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