Bosch to make ABS at Chakan

Bosch Chassis Systems India Limited (BCSIL), the Indian subsidiary Robert Bosch GmbH, is planning to manufacture ABS (Antilock Braking System) and ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) products at its Chakan plant, shortly.

BCSIL is the leading manufacturer of hydraulic brakes in India for passenger cars, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and tractors. Its plants are located in Jalgaon & Chakan in Maharashtra and Manesar near Delhi.

"In future, the safety will continue to play an increasingly important role with improving road infrastructure and consequently higher vehicular speeds. As a result, the safety of the vehicles will also need to be improved considerably in the next few years. With technologies such as ABS, the antilock braking system, and ESP, the electronic stability programme, the number of fatal skidding accidents can be significantly reduced," the company sources said.

"Bosch is planning to manufacture ABS & ESP products at its Chakan plant, near Pune. Bosch is already marketing these products through Motor Industries Company Ltd (MICO). Being from the brake family, this product portfolio will shift to the braking company of Bosch - BCSIL. It will be a seamless transfer."

The scope of activities will be significantly enhanced. Step one will be to build application engineering capability within India.

For this, additional people are being hired and will be trained overseas. The second step will be local manufacturing. First stage of localisation will be the assembly operation. Investments for this will be made in 2008, the sources said.

The second and third assembly lines will be added in 2011 & 2013, respectively. The second stage will be machining for which investments will be made in 2010, the company sources told Business Standard, but declined to divulge details about the investment.

The country is already the world¿s second largest motorcycle market, and the largest market for tractors and three-wheelers. Bosch also expects to see rapid growth in the segment of low-price vehicles costing less than 7,000 euros.

In India, growth in sales of these vehicles is especially strong, forecast at roughly 10 per cent per year between now and 2015. Nearly 50,000 kilometers of the Indian road network are to be widened by 2012.