The Bosch Group is forecasting further strong growth for India over the next few years, and expects to see positive economic development in the country over the medium and long term. Accordingly, the company sees India as a key pillar of its growth strategy in Asia Pacific.
“Over the past ten years, Bosch has doubled its sales in Asia Pacific. By 2020, we are aiming to double our sales in the region again,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Bosch Board of Management, at a press briefing in Bangalore.
Dr. Denner forecasts that after registering projected economic growth of around 4.8 per cent this year, India will likely grow by 6 per cent in 2015. This makes the country one of the global engines of growth alongside China. “We expect to see India establish itself as the world’s fifth largest vehicle manufacturer by the end of this decade,” he said.
The Bosch Group has been active on the sub-continent since 1922. In 2013, it generated sales in India of approximately Rs. 13,200 crores, a three-fold increase over the last ten years. Bosch currently employs 27,000 associates at 10 production sites and seven R&D locations in India. Since 2010, the Bosch Group has invested around Rs. 5,400 crores in the expansion of manufacturing and research facilities in the country, of which some Rs. 1,200 crores were invested in the current year alone.
Innovative solutions from India
India is home to the technology and services company’s largest development center outside Germany, employing 10,500 engineers. “We develop innovative solutions there which are used in products around the world,” said Dr. Steffen Berns, President of the Bosch Group in India.
The rising number of patents filed testifies to the successful work at the center: from 20 registered innovations in 2008, this figure rose to 220 last year. “That’s a more than ten-fold increase within five years,” Dr. Berns said.