The opening ceremony of Volvo Car (China) R&D Center is held in Jiading district on Sept 9. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn]

Jiading district of Shanghai witnessed a grand opening ceremony of Volvo Car (China) R&D Center and the ground-breaking ceremony of its Asia-Pacific headquarters on Sept 9, local media reported.

Volvo Car (China) had announced its plan to establish a R&D center in Jiading as early as 2011. Its first-stage project covers 35,000 square meters with a combined investment of 420 million yuan ($65.8 million). The research fields will involve the whole automobile systems such as electronic system, new energy and smart-connected technologies.

The center, equipped with advanced laboratories and facilities, now has an international R&D team of over 500 experts. Its manager said that the Sweden-based Volvo headquarters will share its research resources and results with the Chinese R&D center. This in turn will facilitate its domestic automobile research. The manager also pointed out that they will follow the consumer-oriented philosophy and will develop more quality vehicles for Chinese customers.

Ma Chunlei, Party chief of the district, said that auto industry is one of Jiading's pillar industries, with an output revenue of 218.8 billion yuan in the first half of 2015. The opening of the R&D center will further contribute to Jiading's economy and its goal of becoming a scientific and technological innovation hub, Ma added.

Volvo also plans to set up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Jiading. The headquarters will cover an area of 300 mu (20 hectares) with an investment of 1.7 billion yuan. It will consist of an office building, an auto museum and a design center. And after completion, the regional headquarters will become a hub for the company's auto sales, R&D, purchasing and production in the Asia-Pacific region.