Bosch Chairman Volkmar Denner (Photo : Getty Images)
Bosch GmbH, the German mobility, industry and software conglomerate, is planning to develop solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) as well as set up new Bosch plants in China this year, Bosch chairman Volkmar Denner announced on Monday, March 20.
China Daily said the German company will open a new joint venture for gasoline engine management systems in Chongqing and a thermo-technology joint venture with Guangdong Vanward New Electric Co Ltd, a Foshan-based gas appliance exporter. It also plans to build an automotive electronics plant in Changzhou, in Jiangsu Province, and a power tools plant in Chengdu.
In an interview with China Daily, Denner said that their long-term plan was to develop connected mobility, smart city and smart home products.
"China's growing demand for high value-added products and services, especially for its automobiles, home-related service businesses and manufacturing projects, offers many opportunities," Denner was quoted as saying.
It was not the first time that Bosch had invested in the country. Last year, it poured around 5.4 billion yuan ($782 million) into the country and help established a research and development facility in Suzhou and Nanjing.
Bosch's connectivity business involves sensors, software and services, and it has set up a local team for its connectivity businesses in the country, which includes the subsidiaries of Bosch Software Innovations, Bosch Sensortec and Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions.
"Bosch is convinced about the long-term potential of the Chinese market and we will continue to invest in China," Denner added.
Last year, Bosch sales in China increased by 3.5 percent to 73.1 billion euros ($78.77 billion), indicating that China remained its second-largest market worldwide.
"We see China entering a phase of more balanced and sustainable development, through the transformation of economic development patterns and economic structural reforms," Denner said.
About 60,000 people work for Bosch in China and the company runs pilot projects in nine of its manufacturing plants in the country, as part of Germany's Industry 4.0 strategy. The strategy promotes the digitalization in manufacturing, which is hailed as an innovative way for manufacturing companies.
The first Industry 4.0 pilot project started in Suzhou three years ago, the report said.
Meanwhile, Bosch will start exporting products made at its China facilities to European countries starting this year. This will be done using the China-Europe railway, a new move that will take advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Bosch said that mobile machines produced by Chinese equipment manufacturers use the company's drive and control solutions, which provide them with excellent performance.
To develop their business in the ASEAN region, the company said it will provide mobility solutions to Chinese OEM customers such as SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co in Indonesia and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd in Thailand.
