Bosch’s localisation strategy paying dividends in China

Global automotive supplier Bosch has registered consolidated sales of 6.4 billion euros (Rs 48,921 crore) in China in 2014, growing year on year by 27 percent.

Speaking at the company’s annual press conference in China yestrday, Peter Tyroller, the member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH responsible for Asia Pacific, said: “This significant growth in China is a major factor in our good business development in Asia Pacific. The entire region remains an important growth driver for the Bosch Group.”

The company is confident that it will continue to register healthy growth in the years to come: “We want to actively shape the development of the Chinese market, and take advantage of the wealth of opportunities arising above all from connectivity, automation, and electrification, as well as energy efficiency,” Tyroller added. 

Aiming to further increase localisation
To further expand local manufacturing operations and build up research and development in China, the Bosch Group has invested a total of close to 920 million euros in China over the past three years. In 2014 alone, the investment amounted to almost 330 million euros.

“Our localization strategy in China is paying off, as our business success in the country shows,” Tyroller said. For instance, the Bosch Mahle Turbo Systems joint venture opened its first plant in Shanghai in 2014, where it will be manufacturing turbochargers. The supplier is clearly looking to cater to the steadily growing demand for energy-saving and emissions-reducing automotive technology in China.

The second Bosch diesel technology plant is to be opened in Qingdao, eastern China, this year. Bosch’s Thermotechnology division plans to set up a joint venture with the Chinese manufacturer Midea to manufacture variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and air-conditioning systems for commercial buildings. 
Bosch has been present in China since 1909. After Germany and the US, China is the third largest market in the world for Bosch. Following integration of the former joint ventures BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH and ZF Lenksysteme GmbH, Bosch currently employs 53,000 associates in China – the largest Bosch workforce outside Germany.