Gasgoo.com (Shanghai November 10) - Italy's northern city of Turin, a global center for automobile creation and design, has opened its arms to embrace yet another vistor–Beijing Automotive, also known as Beiqi or BAIC. Earlier this week, Group Chairman Xu Heyi met with President of the Torino Chamber of Commerce Alessandro Barberis, the Beijing Evening News reported. The two parties unveiled a plaque for the Beijing Automotive Research Institute's, BAIC's in-house engineering school, new brancn in Turin.

BAIC hopes that by opening a new office in Europe that the brand will be to attract international talent in order to improve its quality and expertise in the realm of design. Turin, due to its reputation in the automotive world, was the natural choice. According to Gu Lei, institute dean, the Turin branch's primary work will revolve around using local resources and talent to supply the manufacturer with design and modeling services, as well as a medium to recruit new talent. He hopes that the Turin site will become an important design center in the future.

Mr. Xu has been very vocal in the past about BAIC's need to raise its quality to meet global standards. The manufacturer's earlier purchase of Saab engine and platform technology was a step towards this goal. Furthermore, BAIC's auto part company, Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts, has formed partnerships with several multinational companies in order to help further boost the brand's quality.