Bosch UK records solid growth

In 2017, Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, registered £3.5 billion (just over €4 billion) in consolidated sales in the UK. This is the first time Bosch UK has exceeded €4 billion in annual sales.

Adjusted for exchange rate effects, this represents an increase of 6.1 percent compared to 2016, while in British Pounds this accounts for 9 percent growth. Growth in Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology as well as Building Technologies (formerly Security Systems) drove Bosch’s success in the UK.

Steffen Hoffmann, President of Bosch UK said: “The UK is our second largest European market, and fourth worldwide, so it is encouraging to see its growth in 2017. This has not been delivered without challenges, particularly in the consumer goods business sector. However, Bosch believes it is well placed to continue a positive growth trajectory despite market challenges in 2018 and subsequent years.”

Positive development across business sectors

Many of Bosch’s UK business sectors performed strongly in 2017. The Mobility Solutions business sector achieved 10 percent growth, outperforming the UK market growth. This was mainly driven by the demand for new driver assistance and automated driving technology, as well as a strong performance by the Automotive Aftermarket division.

After a challenging few years, the Industrial Technology business sector also reported strong figures, with a 9 percent increase in sales compared to 2016. This is a particularly positive, contributed by worldwide stimulus from building and infrastructure projects. This demonstrates Bosch’s business strength in this sector.

The Consumer Goods as well as the Energy and Building Technology business sector held up their market leading positions, despite challenging market conditions.

Focus on air quality and mobility services ecosystems

Bosch strongly believes in the future of diesel as part of the engine technology mix. It has made heavy investments as part of its aim to make practically zero-emissions traffic a reality. This has paid off with Bosch engineers recently achieving a major new breakthrough in diesel technology and have succeeded in reducing NOx emissions to one-tenth of the legally permitted limit.

Since 2017, European legislation has required that new passenger car models tested according to an RDE-compliant mix of urban, extra-urban and motorway cycles emit no more than 168 milligrams of NOx per kilometre. On average, test vehicles equipped with the enhanced technology already emit no more than 13 milligrams of NOx per kilometre in a Real Driving Emissions (RDE) test cycle, far less than the 120 milligrams that will be permitted after 2020.

Steffen Hoffmann, President of Bosch UK said: “We firmly believe that the diesel engine will continue to play an important role in the options for future mobility. Until electromobility breaks through to the mass market, we will still need highly efficient combustion engines. Bosch is pushing the boundaries of what is technically feasible. Equipped with the latest Bosch technology, diesel vehicles will be classed as low-emission vehicles and yet remain affordable.”

[More detailed information on these technological advances can be found here.]

Breadth of real-world connectivity solutions

Hardly any company can offer as many real-world connectivity solutions as Bosch, covering everything from smart mobility to connected manufacturing, the smart city and the smart home.

Globally, Bosch has put 170 in-house Internet of Things projects into practice so far, focusing on fundamental challenges such as population growth, urbanisation and climate change. Bosch predicts particular growth in cross-domain ecosystems that link different industries, such as Logistics 4.0.

Connected mobility and services: entering the ridesharing business

The value of connected mobility is forecast to reach 140 billion euros worldwide by 2022. By 2025, there will be more than 450 million connected vehicles on the world’s roads. Bosch has entered the ridesharing business through its acquisition of the US start-up Splitting Fares (SPLT). It has brought SPLT and more than 20 other mobile service providers together in a new Connected Mobility Solutions division.

Electric and automated mobility: striving for market leadership

Bosch expects the mass market for electric vehicles to take off from 2020, and aims to be a leading player. Bosch is already working with the US start-up Nikola Motor Company and Chinese company Weichai Power, the world’s biggest manufacturer of commercial-vehicle engines, to promote the use of fuel cells in production vehicles.

Bosch expects similar growth in automated driving: the Company is growing faster than the market, which is forecast to grow 20 percent in 2018. As early as 2019, Bosch expects to generate sales of two billion euros with driver assistance systems. Sales of Bosch radar and video sensors, for example, are expected to increase by 40 percent. Some 4,000 engineers are working for Bosch on automated-driving solutions, 1,000 more than a year ago.

Bosch Group: Global strategy and business outlook for 2018

Bosch is aiming for further growth in 2018, despite the difficult economic climate. After achieving record results in 2017, and in light of economic and geopolitical risks, the Bosch Group expects its sales revenue to grow by 2 to 3 percent in 2018. In the first three months, the sales revenue generated by the company matched the high level of the same period of the previous year, and even increased by around 5 percent when adjusted for exchange-rate effects.

“Our company is unequalled when it comes to combining comprehensive connectivity expertise with broad industry and product know-how. This is the Bosch Group’s unique selling proposition,” said the Bosch CEO Dr. Volkmar Denner, speaking at the annual press conference in Renningen.

Denner sees improving the quality of life and contributing to eco- and climate-friendliness at the top of Bosch’s agenda: “Our ‘Invented for life’ ethos is our motivation for developing the best possible technologies for environmental protection. We want to help keep people mobile, while improving air quality.”

Communications
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