Shanghai (ZXZC)- The leading German auto parts supplier Webasto inaugurated its China R&D center's Wuhan-based branch on Oct. 20, the company announced via its WeChat account, as parts of efforts to strengthen its R&D capability in the world's largest auto market.

Webasto said the R&D branch in Wuhan city, capital of Hubei province, will help it further improve the ability to locally develop software and systems, and cooperate with the company's global R&D units in the technical development and innovation of new energy vehicle (NEV)-dedicated high-voltage heating system and charging solutions.

Photo credit: Webasto

The newly-launched R&D facility came after the launch of Webasto's Shanghai R&D center in 2004 and Jiaxing power battery center in 2019.

Covering a floorage of over 1,000 square meters, the Wuhan R&D branch expects to house more than 50 R&D staff members by the end of this year, and the personnel volume is likely to reach 100 by 2025.

Zhang Lihua, chairman of Webasto China, said the Wuhan R&D unit is of great importance to the company’s development of an exceptional local talent tool and improvement of its overall R&D strength.

In Wuhan, Webasto has founded its largest plant in the world. The factory is capable of producing 2 million sets of sunroofs, 1.2 million sets of electric heaters, and 600,000 sets of charging piles per year.