Porsche has announced plans to establish a permanent research and development facility in China as it looks to strengthen its presence through Asia.

This new research and development center will be located in Shanghai. It will focus on better understanding the needs of customers in the Chinese market, which has established itself as Porsche’s biggest single market. The facility will join Porsche Digital China that was established last year and Porsche Engineering China that has had a presence in the country for more than 20 years.

Porsche operates a host of research and development facilities around the world, all of which are directly linked to the company’s engineering base in Weissach, Germany. These facilities range from those in northern Sweden where extreme cold weather testing is conducted, to Johannesburg, South Africa, and California.

Read Also: Porsche Has No Interest In A Chinese Plant, Wants To Preserve “Made In Germany” Image

“We’re driven by curiosity, by perpetually learning and fine-tuning our cars,” chairman of the executive board at Porsche, Oliver Blume, said in a statement. “Having a permanent home for this work in China will bring obvious benefits, particularly when it comes to reflecting and predicting our customers’ needs in China – a nation that has truly welcomed Porsche and taken our cars to heart to the extent that it’s been our biggest sales market for six consecutive years.”

Porsche will also establish a small-scale local assembly site in Malaysia that will handle production of models exclusively for the local market. This is important as taxes on many imported Porsche models represent 105 per cent of the car’s purchase price. This site will be responsible for the final assembly of specific models from 2022.

“The new assembly site in Malaysia meets specific market needs and, although a standalone project and modest in size and capacity, it signals our willingness to learn and adapt to specific local market conditions,” added Albrecht Reimold, member of the executive board for production and logistics at Porsche.