BMW Group has begun construction of a new development center in the Czech town of Sokolov near the German border. It’s being built on a plot of more than 650 ha which will give it room for several test tracks on which to see how the new vehicles BMW is developing react to a wide variety of driving conditions. BMW says it’s one of four centers worldwide where such testing will be carried out in that the center will be involved in the development of driverless vehicles. The Czech Republic will be contributing more than CZK 500m in investment incentives in return for a promise by BMW to create at least 250 jobs. BMW officials said that the coronavirus crisis has had only a small impact of the company’s schedule to begin test drives by 2022 and that it should be possible to make up the delay during the construction process. Groundworks have already begun for the test track and are expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
