Hungarian automotive software developer NNG unveiled its expansion plan in China on Thursday including the establishment of a 50-strong development team in Shanghai, China's biggest city and financial hub.
"China is becoming for us the biggest electrical vehicle market of the world, for commercial and passenger cars," Giles Shrimpton, CEO of NNG told a press conference here.
For the time being, NNG is providing local solutions for five Chinese carmakers, and they are expecting their business opportunities to expand with the increase in the sales of cars.
"In 2016, the company's sales of 98 million euros came from 2 percent from the Chinese domestic market, whereas Chinese exports made up 5 percent to 7 percent of revenue, which we would like to increase to 20-25 percent in the future," the CEO added.
Valentin Pecs, NNG's leader responsible for the development of the Pacific Ocean area, including China, said that the Chinese expansion would have a positive impact on the number of staff in Budapest as well.
"NNG's products will continue to be developed in the company's headquarters in Budapest, whereas the Chinese department will be dealing with the local adaptations," He added.
"Navigating in the Chinese market has a lot of local challenges, including local traffic regulations, the handling of faulty GPS signals in big cities, and special searches tailored to Chinese culture," Pecs explained.
According to NNG, the company's navigation systems are used in more than 30 million vehicles worldwide, including 30 car brands.
The company has presence in many countries, such as the United States, Brazil, Switzerland, Israel, China, Japan and India.
NNG opened its Shanghai office in 2012, mainly on sales and localization roles.
