Insights

Global R&D Center Distribution of Automotive Companies

Over the last decade, the emergence of automotive R&D centres has seen a sharp spike; resulting in the formation of newer R&D hotspots. Globally, India and China are home to one of the largest markets for R&D centres. In 2006, China had about 98 engineering centres, which has nearly double in 2017 to about 174 centres growing at a CAGR of 5.9%. India has increased its share from 34 to 63 over a span of ten years, growing at a CAGR of 6.3%. India has low-cost software talent availability, and China is favourable for low-cost manufacturing and has access to a large market.. Other locations that have seen a significant rise in R&D centres are California, Michigan, Western EU, and Japan. Western US locations of California and Washington have over 61 centres, growing at a CAGR of 3.8%, while the Bay Area has over 23 centres as of 2017. Japan also has a high number of R&D centres albeit with a low CAGR of 0.9%.