BMW Group Names Dr. Bernardo Lopez to Head Palo Alto Technology Office

    WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- BMW Group announced that it
 has named Dr. Bernardo Lopez to head the BMW Group Technology Office in Palo
 Alto, CA, effective July 1, 2005. He will interface with Prof. Raymond
 Freymann, Managing Director of BMW Group Research and Technology. Dr. Lopez
 succeeds Dr. Joachim Stilla, who will assume new responsibilities at the
 company's headquarters in Munich, Germany.
     Prior to this position, Dr. Lopez was head of information technology for
 the development of electronics in the research and development division at BMW
 Group in Munich, Germany.  His extensive engineering experience includes work
 in simulation methods, project management and advanced powertrain engineering,
 especially in the field of electronics.
     A native of Zamora, Spain, Dr. Lopez has a broad international education
 background having studied at universities in Spain and Germany, where he did
 research in such fields as neural networks.  He also studied at the University
 of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Lopez was awarded a Ph.D. in Physics in 1997
 from the University of Wurzburg, Germany.
     Located in the heart of California's Silicon Valley, the BMW Group
 Technology Office was founded in 1998 to identify and investigate leading-edge
 technologies in non-automotive fields that BMW Group can make available to its
 customers. Working closely with the BMW Group Research and Innovation Center
 (FIZ) in Munich, new technologies are identified and pursued at an early
 stage, with an eye toward their viability as future business propositions.
 Areas of technological interest currently being explored include: sensors,
 actuators, smart materials, and human/machine interaction. There is also
 emphasis on vehicle information and communication technology.
     While most of the work of the Technology Office will be seen in future BMW
 Group vehicles, products such as the Miniature Head-Up Display in the
 sunglasses of the ORACLE BMW Racing Team used in the America's Cup and the
 iDrive controller in the current BMW 7 Series are already well-known
 technologies examples of its work. The Technology Office also developed the
 BMW iPod(TM) adapter that enabled the world's first integration of iPod(TM)
 and car audio systems, allowing iPod(TM) enthusiasts to connect with music
 like never before, while maintaining uncompromised control of the automobile.
     Along with the BMW Group Engineering and Emissions Test Center in Oxnard
 and DesignworksUSA in Newbury Park, the Technology Office in Palo Alto forms
 the BMW Group California Innovation Triangle (CIT).
 
     BMW Group In America
     BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since
 1975.  ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.
 The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and
 financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the
 ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in
 California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations
 throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part
 of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing
 plant for all Z4 Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales
 organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger
 car centers, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle
 retailers, 80 MINI passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car
 dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for
 North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
 Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the
 Internet at:
      http://www.bmwusa.com
      http://www.bmwmotorradusa.com
      http://www.miniusa.com
      http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
 
 

SOURCE  BMW Group