The Bond Between
AVL and China Is
Older than AVL Itself
AVL China
HOME OF INNOVATION
GLOBAL FOOTPRINT ASIA
How did you join AVL and what was your original motivation?
My background is rather atypical for AVL, as I don’t come from
the technical field, but from political science and econom-
ics. I studied at Columbia Graduate School and was already
very involved with China there – with the language and the
country. Then I have worked at a think tank in Taiwan for four
years doing economic research. Back in the US, I had a lot to
do with Chinese-American business relations and founded
my own start-up in this area in 1989. In the mid-1990s, AVL
approached me: the company wanted to further expand its
China business and brought me on board. I came to Graz, met
Professor List and decided to give it a try. In all these years, he
has always supported me fully. I respect him very much – as a
visionary and as a leader.
How has AVL China developed over the years?
When I started at AVL in China back in January 1995, we were
just twelve people. First, we had to create the structures to be
able to grow. I worked hard to build up the workforce. Those
first ten years were very challenging, but then the conditions
were right and the market in China was ready. Today, we are
a valuable asset within AVL with over 750 employees and a
significant share of the company’s total sales. For instance,
we are number one in emissions testing in China. We have
installed more than 2,000 testbeds here over the years. That’s
enormous. Our goal has always been to be the market leader
in our field. I don’t believe in being second!
What milestones has AVL reached in China
Where to start? Important steps were certainly the various
site openings: our first office in Shanghai in 1995, then our
first Technical Center in Shanghai, which went into operation
in 2003. From this point on we were able to work locally for
our Chinese customers for the first time. In 2016, we opened
a second technical Center in Tianjin. In 2018, in conjunction
with Graz and Regensburg, we launched a very important and
highly skilled software center in Chengdu. We have expanded
into a new workshop in Lingang (Shanghai) for the production
of instrumentation and test systems, and installed an inverter
testbed for engineering projects related to the control units
required by BEVs. The foundation for the future is in place and
is fully aligned with our strategy of becoming the market lead-
er in mobility solutions related to NEV applications. We began
this journey twelve years ago and it is the shared vision of our
entire staff in China.
Michael Laske, Managing Director, AVL China, talks
about his beginnings at AVL, key milestones, the
rapidly changing Chinese market, and what all this
means for the future of AVL and the industry.
Interview with
Michael Laske
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