BMW may get 18.75mn euros in Czech public aid for test centre

PRAGUE: Car maker BMW may get public aid worth 18.75 million euros to build a test centre for self-driving and electric vehicles in the Czech Republic under a memorandum approved by the Czech government on Monday, a government spokeswoman said.

"The final shape of the investment incentive should be clear by the end of June," spokeswoman Barbora Peterova said in a text message.

The construction of BMW's first vehicle testing project in eastern Europe would create several hundred jobs in the Czech Republic, where labour costs are lower than in Germany.

Projects at the 500-hectare (1,200-acre) Sokolov site, picked out of 82 potential locations, will include the testing of driver-assistance and braking systems.