Mercedes-Benz R&D celebrates 20 years in India

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s research and development wing has completed two decades of operations in India.  

As one of the first automotive manufacturers worldwide, Mercedes-Benz opened a Research and Development Center in Bangalore in 1996. It foresaw the key role IT would play in the future of automotive technology in terms of engineering, digital development, testing and simulation at an early stage.

Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India, offered Daimler with its Mercedes-Benz Research and Development Center India (MBRDI) the opportunity to tap into a source of qualified specialists in Engineering and IT. Today, MBRDI is the largest R&D for Daimler outside of Germany – with respect to the number of employees. Innovative developments and R&D support from MBRDI play an essential role in Daimler’s worldwide R&D network.

“Digitalisation opens great opportunities for our automotive industry,” says Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “Our site in Bangalore plays a significant role within our global RD network. Through the special spirit in this center, all areas of our digital development benefit. We are creating intelligent solutions to synchronise the development cycles of the web and consumer electronics with those of the automotive industry. This translates into bringing new technologies to the road even faster than before - and more efficiently.”

Focus on digitalisation

MBRDI’s focus is on digitalisation, simulation and data science. It was established as a research institute with just 10 employees and has grown to about 3,500 employees – and is still growing steadily. The vision is to become a Center of Excellence within Daimler for Engineering and IT.MBRDI also aims to partner closely with suppliers in India in the areas of product development and IT services. This will help to establish itself as a valuable partner to all business units and brands of Daimler AG worldwide.

Commenting on the completion of 20 years of MBRDI, Manu Saale, MD and CEO, MBRDI says: “From a workforce of 10 to 3,500 and from a testing facility to the largest R&D center outside of Germany, we have indeed come a long way. Today MBRDI is a strong and recognised research facility of Daimler. Over the years, we have not only grown in numbers, but also the quality of work we do has been exceptional with close to 500 patent applications coming from our center. As a growing company, we adapt quickly to the market in terms of people practices, corporate social responsibilities as well as providing world-class facilities to our people. Everyone in the company has contributed every step of the way to our success. In celebrating MBRDI’s 20th anniversary, I would like to say a big ‘Thank You’to each and every one of our employees.”