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BMW announces DesignWorksUSA studio and ConnectedDrive lab in Shanghai

BMW has opened both a DesignWorks studio and a ConnectedDrive lab in Shanghai, China, as a means of gathering information and insight into the Chinese market as the company looks to increase its presence in Asia. Adrian van Hooydonk, Director BMW Group Design, said, "Creating this foothold for both BMW Group Design and DesignworksUSA in Shanghai is of great importance from both strategic and creative standpoints." President of BMW Group DesignWorksUSA Laurenz Schaffer said, "Our new studio in Shanghai places DesignworksUSA at the epicenter of the most rapidly growing and influential consumer market in the world and provides an indispensable resource for shaping our global perspectives for clients." The new studio will perform functions including product, transportation, automotive, environmental and interaction design; color, material and finish design; design communication, research and strategy as well as sustainability consulting. Designers from DesignworksUSA studio in Los Angeles, Munich and Singapore will supplement a local design team.

BMW 'looking' at an M1 supercar successor

BMW is actively considering a new range-topping supercar model in the spirit of the M1 and Z8, CAR has learned. Global sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson said the company had other priorities, but that there remained a desire to showcase the brand's sporting aspirations. 'We have never replaced the M1, although we have made ventures in that direction,' he said.

AUTO SALES: GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota drag industry to 36% decline

General Motors, Ford Motor Co., American Honda and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. all reported sales declines of more than 31 percent in December as the U.S. auto industry capped its worst year since 1992.