Reinforcing its commitment to the Indian market, the Bosch Group in India - a leading manufacturer of automotive components - has announced an investment of Rs 2,200 crores for India. Announcing this at a press conference in New Delhi, Dr Bernd Bohr - Chairman of the Automotive Group and Member, Board of Management Robert Bosch GmbH, stated that the sum would be spent over a period of two years and used for capacity augmentation, diversification and new technology development.

A substantial portion of this amount will go into further expanding the company's local activities. For instance, Bosch is currently building a new electrical drives plant in Chennai, which will begin operations in 2012. Expansion plans are underway at the Bosch Nashik, Jaipur and Ahmedabad facilities as well. At Nashik, increased demand has resulted in Classical Nozzle Holder production volumes going up from 17,000 units a day to 26,500 units day. DSLA Nozzle production volumes have similarly risen from 18,000 units a day to 30,500 units a day. To cope with this increased demand the company has expanded production area by an additional 33,000 sqm. At Jaipur new hangars are being commissioned for ramp up in production. Bosch is also constructing a new plant in Ahmedabad. With a floor area of 37,000 sqm the plant is expected to be functional by the first quarter of 2012. This facility will produce hydraulic valves, power units and control blocks as well as cylinders.

On the technology front, Bosch experts in India are set to assume worldwide responsibility in the area of software engineering support for electronic control units (ECU). Their development work will focus on ECU for vehicles with conventional drivetrain technologies as well as hybrid and electric vehicles. More than 800 engineers in Bangalore and Coimbatore have already been recruited primarily for this task. In the past year, Bosch in India has also been successful in working on fuel economy technologies that are relevant for India and other emerging markets. Technologies such as the Value-Motronic engine management platform, which was developed for emerging markets in cooperation with Indian engineers, have also had a positive influence on the Bosch Group's global development processes. According to Dr. Bernd Bohr," Indeed, our joint efforts with Indian engineers have provided us with valuable insights into how Bosch technologies can be made more cost-effective across the board. Making Bosch automotive products accessible and affordable everywhere is one of our central aims and we see our India team contributing significantly on this front. "

Significant amount of work is being implemented in the field of safety systems. By 2015, 90% of all new vehicles worldwide will be fitted with Antilock Braking System (ABS). In India, ABS is currently featured in about 13% of locally sold vehicles. With capability to support OEMs' needs for Antilock Braking Systems, Bosch in India produces some 300,000 Antilock Braking Systems per year at its facility in Chakan, Pune. These are used for Passenger Cars, SUVs and UVs. In addition to this, Bosch also offers an affordable ABS for two-wheelers in India.

Commenting on the investment plans for Bosch in India, Dr. Bohr said, "Despite uncertainties due to global political and economic developments the Indian economy has continued to develop strongly and is expected to see steady growth. In the automotive sector in particular, Bosch expects the number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants in India to rise to 35 by 2025, up from 12 at present. This year alone, automotive production in India is set to grow about 11 percent. In contrast, the number of vehicles produced globally is expected to increase by 3 to 5 percent in 2012. In the backdrop of such developments, Bosch would like to contribute and be part of the India growth story. This investment along with plans for expansion and development of new technologies are testimony to our commitment to the Indian market."

In 2010 Bosch Group sales in India stood at Rs 9270 crores. As per preliminary figures, sales of Bosch Group in India is expected to touch Rs 11,000 crores in 2011 resulting in year-on-year growth of about 20 percent. In terms of head count, Bosch in India added 4000 more associates in 2011 taking its present associate strength to 25,000. It is expected that Bosch in India will have 32,000 associates by the end of 2013.