Daimler expands R&D facility in India; plans to hire 800 professionals

Automotive major Daimler AG said today inaugurated its new R&D facility in Whitefield, Bangalore. The company also announced plans to hire 800 professionals to boost Mercedes-Benz Research and Development (R&D) headcount in the country to 2,000 by the year 2015.

Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) currently has a headcount of 1,200, including 1,060 in Bangalore and 140 in Pune.

The new Bangalore facility, spread over an area of 20,000 square meters with capacity of 1,800 people, is the single largest R&D facility of Daimler outside of Germany, the company said in a release.

"MBRDI is one of our most important hubs within the global research and development organisation and the new facility will be a cornerstone for leveraging the Indian talent pool for Daimler, Thomas Weber, member of the board of management, Daimler AG and head of group research, Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, said.

He said the R&D facility in India has been a huge success with over 50 patents to its credit in 2012 alone.

''As a global development center the contribution of MBRDI can be envisaged from the fact that in 2012 alone, the organisation filed over 50 patents for innovations in automotive development - a powerful testimony to MBRDI's success," he added.