Car audio giant Harman enters China’s western province of Chengdu

Speaking of the world’s top 500 Harman Group, perhaps you don’t know much about it, but if you mention the audio brand JBL, many people are familiar with it. JBL is one of Harman's 16 well-known brands. Harman is also the world's largest car audio manufacturer. It provides car entertainment systems for BMW, Mercedes and other world famous cars. In January of this year, Harman announced the establishment of its fifth largest global R&D center in Chengdu Economic Development Zone and China's largest R&D center in March.

The day before yesterday, Chengdu Business Daily reporter walked into the Harbin Group (China) Western Research and Development Center. The R&D office provided by the Economic Development Zone is like a villa and is located among the greenery trails. After more than eight months of operation, the Harman (China) Western Research and Development Center has begun to take shape. Nearly 100 R&D personnel recruited mainly from Chengdu are busy.

“Chengdu is the first choice for the Harmony Group to implement the strategy of Western China.” Yang Jinsong, senior manager of the Harmony Group’s Western Region R&D Center in China, said that from the beginning of the year to the present, the original choice was correct and Chengdu will Harbin provides R&D support throughout the Asia Pacific region and global markets.

The advantages of IT and automotive industries attract Harman

Yang Jinsong told reporters that 70% of the Harman Group's business is to provide car entertainment systems for cars. In the past, it mainly focused on high-end luxury cars. Since 2009, Harman has shifted its business focus to the Asia-Pacific region and began to enter the mid-range car market on a large scale. Following the establishment of the Northeast Asian headquarters and automotive R&D center in Shanghai, Harman began to choose to deploy in a large population and a huge market in western China, eventually finding the ideal place to stay – Chengdu.

Why Chengdu? Yang Jinsong said that Chengdu is a central city in the west. Its electronics and information and software R&D industry has profound industry background and numerous talents. On the other hand, Chengdu has focused on the development of the entire automobile industry chain in recent years. The advantages of the above two industries are in line with Harman's investment orientation, which has prompted Harman to set up a (China) Western R&D center in Chengdu.

Yang Jinsong revealed that software R&D personnel are crucial to the development of in-vehicle entertainment systems. Today, R&D centers have nearly 100 R&D personnel, of which more than 90% are from Chengdu. When he first arrived in Chengdu, Harman had once “tangled” the R&D center in the high-tech zone or the open zone. The IT industry in the High-tech Zone is well-developed and has many talents; the Economic Development Zone is a gathering place for the automotive industry and is in line with Harman's business direction. After repeated weighings and government coordination, Harman chose to set up an R&D center in the Economic Development Zone. “The atmosphere of the automotive industry in Jingkai District is strong and our arrival has also complemented the automotive industry in Chengdu with a research and development of the car entertainment system. Benchmarking significance." Yang Jinsong said.

Take the business platform government to help Haman "find" customers
Speaking of Chengdu’s government service environment, Yang Jinsong is quite emotional. He told reporters that when Harman spoke with the merchants in the Economic Development Zone, he discovered that both parties are talking in the same language system of the car. The degree of professionalism of the government made Harman very satisfied.

In recent years, FAW-Volkswagen, Volvo, Geely and many other well-known automobile manufacturers have settled in the Economic Development Zone, which also offers possibilities for Harman's future business expansion. In the face of Haman's market demand, Economic Development Zone initiatively proposed that after Hamann enters, the government will establish a business cooperation platform between Haman and the automaker to promote cooperation between the two parties.

After Harman entered Chengdu, the Economic Development Zone spared no effort to organize Volvo, Geely, etc. to dock with Harman. Yang Jinsong said that now Haman has got Geely’s order and is developing an on-board entertainment system with functions such as making calls, listening to music, surfing the Internet, and navigation. In addition, the Economic Development Zone has also established a business platform for Harman's consumer electronics products within its jurisdiction. “The government always considers issues in our interests, and these initiatives make Haman's management feel trust.”

Harman Global Market Chengdu Provides R&D Support

Harman’s scale of R&D center in Chengdu Economic Development Zone will eventually exceed 300 people. Here Harman's latest audio technology and scientific research results are brought together. The research area mainly involves high-end car audio and high-end consumer audio products in all fields. The center will also be engaged in the research and development of the world's leading mid- to high-end automotive modern application software technology, global next-generation automotive communications technology and signal processing, and will provide Harman's high-end customers in Asia and Europe with technical support and the latest solutions.

“Chengdu's R&D center not only serves the western region, but also provides research and development support for Harman's markets in the Asia-Pacific region and even the world.” Yang Jinsong said that from the perspective of the characteristics of the automotive entertainment system industry, a region’s R&D centers are at the initial stage. The average annual investment period, the effectiveness of the general manifestation of the need for about 5 years, but from the talent introduction, industrial environment and other aspects of evaluation, Harman's choice into Chengdu is correct.

As the demand for customer orders grows, Harman plans to set up a factory in Chengdu in the latter part of the year to directly provide local and peripheral vehicle manufacturers with products such as car audio, navigation, and car infotainment. He said that in the next step, Haman plans to set up a high-end audio-visual experience center, a flagship sales center, and other institutions in Chengdu, “and wait for the development, and then move the factory here.”

According to Yang Jinsong, Chengdu is worthy of being the "city of wealth, the capital of success." Harman's development in Chengdu is a good proof of this.