General Motors and four other companies have jointly opened the largest vehicle proving grounds in China. The Guangde Proving Ground covers 2.18 square miles and contains 37 miles of test roads.
It's capable of reproducing 67 driving conditions and reportedly cost $253 million to build. Others involved include SAID, Shangai GM, and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC).
The center is located about 130 miles from Shanghai in Guangde County, Anhui. Shanghai GM and PATAC will oversee all operations, which are said to include development, validation, certification, quality control evaluation, load data collection, and analysis for vehicles that weigh less than 7.5 tons. As many as 140 vehicles can be tested at the same time, and the companies plan to keep the facility busy, with an estimated 12.4 million test miles covered every year.
Other than the nearly 250,000 square feet of space available for labs, workshops, and repair facilities, there is also an oval track, vehicle dynamics test area, a long straightaway, a ride and handling loop, noise test road, a durability test zone, corrosion test spot, and a hill test.
Shanghai GM imports and sells Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet vehicles in China and sold 1.2 million in 2011. PATAC performs automotive engineering services such as design, development, testing and validation of components and vehicles.
