Concentrated automotive expertise

Daimler is investing in the future of the automotive industry. A sum of 10.8 billion euros is to be invested in research and development in 2013 and 2014. A key role in this will be played by the new Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India centre (MBRDI) in Bangalore, India, which was opened in spring 2013. With 1,200 employees, MBRDI is the largest Daimler research and development centre outside Germany, and it is also the largest R&D centre run by any German car manufacturer in India.

MBRDI began in 1996 with just ten employees. Since then, it has developed from a purely research-based site for IT and vehicle electrics/electronics into a centre of com­petence for all divisions of Daimler AG 
with know-how in the fields of design (Computer Aided Design), simulation (Computer Aided Engineering), electrics/electronics (EE) and information technology (IT). The Indian site MBRDI filed 50 patents in 2012 alone. A flagship project is the Human Body Modelling (HBM) simulation tool, which can be used during accident simulations to observe a wide range of parameters, such as biomechanics, physical properties of the human body and many different crash situations. This globally unique system thus allows very complex accident situations to be analysed and helps to make vehicle designs even safer by considering a number of different factors. ▪