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“Over the past decade, Bosch has doubled its sales in the Asia-Pacific and by 2020, we are aiming to double our sales,” Volkmar Denner, chairman of the Bosch board of management, told reporters here. He, however, did not divulge the current sales numbers for the region.
He said Indian economy is set to grow by 6 per cent in 2015 and this makes it one of the global engines of growth alongside China.
"We expect to see India emerge as the fifth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world by 2020. We also expect India to be fourth largest economy by 2030, larger than any of the European economies in terms of GDP," he said.
Denner said Bosch has invested Rs 5,400 crore in India for expanding its manufacturing and research facilities, of which Rs 1,200 crore were invested in 2014 alone.
Labour reforms key to investments
Denner, however, said the future investments in India will largely depend on how the government rolls out labour reforms.
"We will continue to invest in India provided the labour conditions allow us to be competitive. We have invested a lot in the last five years. Our intention is to continue to invest here. Labour reforms in India should address the issue of competitiveness," he said.
India is home to Bosch"s largest development centre outside Germany, employing 10,500 engineers.
"We develop innovative solutions here which are used in products around the world," said Steffen Berns, President of the Bosch Group in India.
Bosch also sees excellent opportunities in the booming two-wheeler market, which grew by 14 per cent last year, making it one of the most dynamic markets in India. "We predict that the number of two-wheelers sold annually on the subcontinent will reach 27 million by 2020," Denner said.
Worldwide, the number of motorbikes and electric scooters sold is expected to increase from 100 million today to 150 million by the end of the decade. By comparison, Bosch forecasts that some 110 million new cars will be sold worldwide in 2020.
New powertrain for two-wheelers
Bosch also announced its foray into the global motorcycle market with new powertrain systems. It has developed an affordable and robust engine management system that is specially designed for the Indian and Asian markets.
Currently, many machines in Asia are still fitted with carburettors. Bosch believes its technology offers a decisive advantage: "Compared with the mechanically controlled carburetor, and depending on situation, the electronically controlled fuel-injection system can reduce fuel consumption by up to 16 per cent," Denner said.
This also significantly reduces emissions and conserves valuable resources. In addition, Bosch already supplies safety solutions for two-wheelers including ABS and the new motorcycle stability control (MSC), which improves safety when braking and accelerating, even when the rider is leaning into a bend.
Denner said Bosch is also developing automatic parking assistants and traffic jam assistance systems. "These technologies allow us to gain experience while consistently increasing the technical maturity of such systems. In the decade after 2020, we expect to see fully automated driving," he added.
