Bosch announces Rs 2,500 crore India plan

The Bosch Group has announced plans to invest Rs 2500 crores in India between 2011 and 2013. The plans include capacity augmentation, business diversification and R&D. Bosch Limited; the flagship company will account for Rs 1,300 crores of the total amount.

Among the key initiatives is a new electrical drives facility in Chennai that will begin production by 2012. Another significant project that Bosch is looking at is the global challenge of carbon dioxide emission reduction in powertrain electronics. Having met Bharat Stage 3 norms with its in-line pumps, efforts are on to upgrade these pumps for higher injection pressure to meet upcoming emission norms.

For low-cost cars, the common rail for enhanced fuel efficiency is also being worked on. Another area of development is innovative solutions for tractors. Bosch is also working on start-stop systems and low cost ABS for two-wheelers.

With a turnover of Rs 9270 crore, the Bosch Group in India has seen 36 percent growth in 2010. In the Asia-Pacific region, the company’s sales grew by 43 percent to 11 billion euros, making it the second most important sales region after Europe. This figure is expected to rise to 30 percent by 2015. To expand its local presence Bosch will invest some two billion euros into the region between 2011 and 2013.

As part of its 125th anniversary, the Bosch Group is expanding its higher education funding and launching the “Bosch Inter-Campus Program” with an investment of Rs 300 crore. The initiative will support universities and research projects in India, China, Germany and the US.