BMW Group Korea and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) will jointly establish a Global Interoperability Testing Center (GIOTEC) in Ansan, South Korea, in the latter half of 2025, aiming to improve compatibility between electric vehicles (EVs) and charging systems worldwide.
Announced during a joint ceremony and facility inspection, the initiative is designed to address persistent issues in EV charging, including system outages and incompatibility between chargers and vehicles. BMW Group Korea said in a statement that the center will build a “cooperative system” to help resolve these challenges, adding that “major domestic and foreign automobile brands, manufacturers of EV chargers, and charging operators” will take part—though no specific partners were named.
The GIOTEC centre will be hosted at KERI and serve as a global hub for interoperability testing between different EV platforms and charging technologies. While technical details remain limited, BMW Group Korea said the project is expected to result in “significant improvements” in charging reliability across markets.
The agreement aligns with BMW’s ongoing Charging Next initiative in South Korea. Since its launch, BMW Group Korea has installed more than 2,400 EV chargers nationwide and aims to add another 600 this year.
The GIOTEC project reflects growing international interest in resolving compatibility issues within the EV ecosystem. As electric mobility scales globally, harmonising standards and ensuring seamless charging across different systems is becoming a key priority for both automakers and infrastructure providers.
