Shanghai (ZXZC)- China's GAC Group unveiled a research and development (R&D) center in Detroit, the biggest city of Michigan on January 15 (local time in Detroit). This is the third R&D center the automaker has built in the U.S., the other two are located in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.

Covering a total floorage of over 4,500 square meters, the newly-unveiled R&D center is situated at the core industrial zone of Detroit which not only boasts a complete traditional industry chain and abundant resources for vehicle tests, but also sports some powerful facilities for autonomous vehicle tests such as "American Center of Mobility" and "M-City".

As a crucial foothold for GAC Group's globalization strategy, the Detroit-based center is designed to shore up the domestic capability in vehicle R&D and strengthen the development of models targeting North American market by absorbing superior international technologies and deeply integrating GAC Automotive Engineering Institute's product development and technology innovation systems.

From the time being, GAC Group has formed a R&D network globally consisting of spots in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Detroit, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Its advanced design center in Shanghai focuses on research and design of advanced technologies and digitalized development, coordinating with the innovation work of its Guangzhou headquarters.

In addition, the Silicon Valley R&D center specializes in big data, AI, autonomous driving, cybersecurity, new energy vehicle technology and the advanced design center in Los Angeles works on cutting-edge car design, human-machine interaction and localized design for the U.S.-targeted models.

Additionally, the automaker plans to set up another R&D centers in Germany and India in the future, said Wang Jiujing, president of the GAC Automotive Engineering Institute, when he was interview by a Chinese media outlet. GAC Trumpchi will launch the first model for the U.S. market next year.