Bosch commercial vehicles business grows by more than 10 percent

• Wolf-Henning Scheider: “Bosch is in the fast lane”
• Equipment for trucks, vans, and buses accounts for one-quarter of all sales in Automotive Technology business sector
• Bosch is European market leader for truck and bus infotainment systems

Hannover – With sales growth of more than 10 percent, Bosch’s commercial vehicles business is making a major contribution to growth in the company’s Automotive Technology business sector. Overall, Bosch’s automotive business is set to register growth of 7 to 8 percent in 2014. In the current year, the company will generate one-quarter of its automotive technology sales with equipment for trucks, vans, and buses. “Bosch’s commercial vehicle growth is in the fast lane,” said Wolf-Henning Scheider, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH and spokesperson for the Automotive Group, at the 2014 IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hannover. Diesel technology continues to be the main driver of growth. In this regard, Bosch is benefiting from ever stricter emissions standards for trucks and buses, as well as for off-highway vehicles such as tractors and construction machinery.

Emissions standards boost global sales of diesel systems

China is one current example of such standards. As a result of this new emissions standard, electronically controlled high-pressure injection systems and exhaust-gas treatment will be mandatory for new commercial vehicles. Bosch is benefiting from this. The company has sold twice as many common-rail systems as in 2013. Consequently, this year will see the opening of a second Bosch manufacturing site for commercial vehicle technology in China.

But China is not the only country in which exacting standards are boosting sales figures: worldwide, nearly a million Denoxtronic exhaust-gas treatment systems for trucks and buses will be delivered this year.

Web-enabled trucks: operating efficiency is top priority

Particularly in Europe and the U.S., Bosch is focusing on connectivity in commercial vehicles alongside diesel technology. “We expect that by as early as 2016, every new commercial vehicle in Europe and the U.S. will be web-enabled,” said Wolf-Henning Scheider. Bosch is already the European market leader for truck and bus infotainment systems. Bosch is also using this connectivity to enhance commercial vehicles’ fuel economy. One example of this is Eco.Logic Motion – a system that uses a navigation data-based electronic horizon to calculate an efficient driving strategy. To achieve this, Bosch connects the powertrain and the transmission with the navigation system. This alone results in average fuel savings of 5 percent – according to measurements made by Bosch customers, the saving can even reach 9 percent. In the future, Bosch will also be connecting the engine management and transmission control systems with web-based real-time data. This will allow the commercial vehicle’s powertrain to adapt not only to the topography and geometry of the road network, but also to speed limits and road works. To quote Scheider, the result is an optimisation “based on live information.”

Bosch Automotive Technology - close to the customer worldwide

In order to be able to supply customers in China, Europe, and the United States, Bosch relies on local partnerships and local manufacturing. Outside Germany, the company has manufacturing operations for commercial-vehicle diesel systems in the U.S., Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, and India. The expansion of global competence in the automotive sector is also reflected in headcount: by the beginning of 2015, Bosch Automotive Technology will employ a good 193,000 associates, almost 13,000 more than at the start of 2014. This increase will mainly take place in Asia. In addition, the Automotive Technology business sector will see its research and development workforce grow from almost 35,000 to more than 37,000 associates.

Ends

For all of Bosch’s IAA 2014 press material, go to: http://www.bosch-presse.de/presseforum/details.htm?txtID=6981&tk_id=108

Video

Bosch Diesel Hybrid for commercial vehicles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX7DUiO3PLI

Contact: Susan Shrosbree, phone: 44 (0)1895 838545

Automotive Technology is the largest Bosch Group business sector. In 2013, its sales came to 30.6 billion euros, or 66 percent of total group sales. This makes the Bosch Group one of the leading automotive suppliers (NB: Due to a change in accounting policies, the 2013 figures can only be compared to a limited extent with the 2012 figures). Automotive Technology largely operates in the following areas: injection technology for internal-combustion engines, alternative powertrain concepts, efficient and networked powertrain peripherals, systems for active and passive driving safety, assistance and comfort functions, technology for user-friendly infotainment as well as car-to-car and Car2X communication, and concepts, technology, and service for the automotive aftermarket. Bosch has been responsible for important automotive innovations, such as electronic engine management, the ESP anti-skid system, and common-rail diesel technology.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In 2013, its roughly 281,000 associates generated sales of 46.1 billion euros. (NB: Due to a change in accounting policies, the 2013 figures can only be compared to a limited extent with the 2012 figures). Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Automotive Technology, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 360 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 50 countries. If its sales and service partners are included, then Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. In 2013, the Bosch Group invested some 4.5 billion euros in research and development and applied for some 5,000 patents. This is an average of 20 patents per day. The Bosch Group’s products and services are designed to fascinate, and to improve the quality of life by providing solutions which are both innovative and beneficial. In this way, the company offers technology worldwide that is “Invented for life.”

Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.co.uk and www.bosch-press.com.

Follow us on Twitter/BoschUK and Facebook/BoschUK

Tags: