Bosch to invest Rs1,000 crore in India

Our Corporate Bureau
24 August 2004

Mumbai: Bosch, the world's second largest provider of automotive technologies, has announced plans of its group companies to invest about Rs1,000 crore in India over the next four years as part of its strategy to focus on Asia to drive global growth.

A significant part of this investment will be directed towards the introduction of the ''common rail diesel injection systems'' including application, testing and manufacturing. Bosch has been present in India since 1922 through its office in Kolkata and since the last 53 years through its subsidiary, Motor Industries Company Limited (MICO).

Robert Bosch, chairman of the automotive division, who has been assigned additional responsibility for India said, "Asia, and in particular India, will play a significant role in our growth plans."

Currently, Bosch is a 36.4 billion euro company, with business interests in automotive technology, industrial technology and consumer and building technology. Its automotive division contributes about two-thirds of its global turnover. Given the rapid developments by the automotive industry in India, and significant reduction in the technology generation gap between Europe and India, Bosch will transfer global automotive technologies to MICO to enhance technological sophistication of its customers in India who include global and Indian OEMs.

Among the latest and most advanced automotive technologies pioneered by Bosch to be launched in India will be the common rail diesel injection system. Common rail has contributed to making diesel cars cleaner, more economical, less noisy and sportier.

This is one of the main reasons for its success in Europe, where in 2003, almost 44 per cent of all new passenger cars that were registered, were diesel powered. The company believes that there will be a successful adoption of this technology in India as well. The first locally manufactured common rail systems are scheduled to come off production lines at MICO by early 2006.