The Bosch Group will invest 90 million euros in the country this year which will see the expansion of its plants and a new steering systems manufacturing site.
07 Jun 2016 | 8997 Views | By Autocar Pro News Desk
The Bosch Group is aiming to expand its local presence in Mexico with an investment of 90 million euros (Rs 680 crore) in the country this year.
The investment will see the expansion of the company’s Mobility Solutions plants in San Luis Potosi and Aguascalientes. In mid-June 2016, the Aguascalientes plant will start production of ABS and ESP vehicle safety systems for the local market.
In Queretaro, which is located in the central Mexican Bajio region, Bosch is building a 15,000 square metre manufacturing site for automotive steering systems. It will be the technology supplier’s 11th location in Mexico. By 2019, Bosch plans to invest around 70 million euros (Rs 530 crore) and employ more than 600 new associates at the site.
Commenting on the new expansion plans, Rene Schlegel, president of Bosch Mexico said, “We plan to hire more than 3,000 new associates in Mexico over the next three years.”
Bosch had achieved sales growth of four percent and total sales of 861 million euros in Mexico last year. “We expect positive development for all our business sectors in the current year as well,” said Schlegel. The company currently employs more than 13,000 associates in Mexico – one-third more than in 2012.
The technology and solution provider sees a particularly good potential for its mobility solutions business. Mobility is also one of the focal points of the ‘Year of Germany in Mexico.’ The initiative, which kicked off on June 6, 2016, is run by the Federal Republic of Germany under the direction of the foreign office.
Investments to increase capacity
Between 2012 and 2015, Bosch had invested a total of more than 360 million euros for the expansion of manufacturing facilities and development activities in Mexico. Of this amount, a large portion went to the Mobility Solutions plants in Toluca and Juarez, as well as the Security Systems plant in Hermosillo, where new manufacturing lines were put into operation.
These plants manufacture for the local market as well as for North and South America. In 2015, Bosch opened a new plant for thermo-technology in Tepotzotlan which manufactures gas-fired instantaneous water heaters for Mexico and Latin America.
Mexico, an important R&D location
Mexico is also becoming an increasingly important development location for the Bosch Group. In 2014, the company opened its first software engineering centre for the Americas in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. There, Bosch currently employs around 200 associates.
Bosch in Mexico
Bosch has been present in Mexico since 1955. Today, the company is active in the country with all four of its business sectors. The business with automotive original equipment saw particularly good growth last year. In addition, the Drive and Control Technology, Security Systems, Power Tools, and Thermotechnology divisions achieved double-digit growth rates in 2015.
The company also sees good long-term potential in the Mexican market. The country is the 15th largest economy in the world and has a similar importance in international trade. The member of the NAFTA free trade zone is the seventh largest car manufacturer and the fourth largest exporting nation in the global automotive industry. After recording growth of 2.5 percent last year, the International Monetary Fund expects the Mexican economy to grow on a similar basis over the coming years.