The Euro 43.7 billion Robert Bosch GmbH, is a global leader in the automotive and industrial technology. The Bosch group which operates through 300 subsidiaries and regional companies is present in 50 countries in the world. The group spends close to three billion euros annually on research and development and applied for 3,000 patents worldwide in 2006.

Bosch recently organised 58th International Automotive Press Briefing at Boxberg, Germany where the company unveiled its various activities in the field of automotive technologies to make driving accident free and emissions near zero.

Dr Bernd Bohr, member of the Bosch board of management and Chairman of the Automotive Group commented on a few major activities of Bosch while talking to Deccan Herald’s Dilip Maitra, who was with the Indian media team in Germany.

Deccan Herald: What will be the main drivers of growth for Bosch’s Automotive division in the future?

Dr Bernd Bohr: We anticipate that the growing international demand for safer, cleaner, and more economical vehicles will continue to benefit our automotive technology business. We offer an entire range of products and developments that help to achieve a significant reduction in pollutant emissions while improving safety standards in measurable terms.

This is why we expect a major boost for our international business over the years ahead. We are active in exactly the right technological fields. Our innovative technologies put us in a position where we can play a central role in shaping the future of the automobile in many key areas.

DH: Your corporate slogan is “Invented for Life”. What does it imply?

Dr Bohr: Our slogan sums up our innovation program succinctly. First, the extra comfort incorporated in many of our systems makes life easier for car drivers.

Second, many of our systems also help save lives directly by preventing accidents. And last, but by no means least, it is also about protecting the environment and saving resources. It is this third point that is currently the focus of debate the world over. Accident and emission-free road traffic may still be a vision, but we are working towards it.

DH: The future of technology depends on resources deployed in R&D. How committed is Bosch in this field?

Dr Bohr: Innovation is a tradition at Bosch that always gets top priority. In the year 2006, the company spent over 2.7 billion euros on research and development in the Automotive Technology business sector alone.
That equates to roughly 10 per cent of the 27.2 billion euros in sales achieved in this sector. I think our R&D spends’ share in sales is far higher than the industry average.

Close to half of our R&D investments in the future will benefit systems that directly help to conserve resources and protect the environment. Step by step, our long-term objective must be to even further reduce the carbon dioxide emissions caused by road traffic.

That is why we are also adapting our injection systems for biofuels and working on fuel-cell technology as well as on battery-supported automotive drive concepts.

DH: The automotive markets in North America and Europe are saturated. So where do you expect the growth to come from?

Dr Bohr: The primary regional growth drivers are the emerging Asian markets, where automobile production is expected to grow by an average of around six per cent over the next eight years. In contrast, the growth rate in the traditional manufacturing regions of North America and western Europe could amount to just one per cent. Over the past ten years, our automotive technology sales in Asia Pacific have increased fivefold. In 2006 alone, our automotive business in countries such as India and China grew by around 30 per cent. As automobile production in these emerging markets is forecast to grow by an average of around 6 per cent over the next eight years, we will continue to grow too.

DH: Are you developing products specifically for markets like India?

Dr Bohr: Definitely. We cannot simply transfer technological   solutions one-to-one from Europe to other regions of the world. This is more so for the low priced cars which sell for a net price of less than 7,000 euros. For the Indian low priced car market we are developing a new anti-lock braking system and a new common rail injection system that will be 25 to 30 per cent cheaper than the existing ones we sell.

We are very bullish on India because sales of low price vehicles will experience above-average growth — averaging almost 14 per cent a year between now and 2014.

In most large markets we have local presence. In India we operate through Mico India which is present in the country for more than half-a-century. Our local development facilities profit from our international network but are also familiar with the demands of customers in the respective countries. In India we have already announced investments of Rs 1,800 crore for the period of 2005 to 2008. We may announce some fresh initiatives early next year.

DH: Broadly speaking, what are the major challenges for the automotive technology of the future?

Dr Bohr: Mainly two broad objectives: fewer accidents and lower exhaust-gas emissions. First, the aim is to make driving as accident-free as far possible, and this despite increasing traffic density.

The European Union has declared its goal of halving the number of road deaths by 2010. Japan and the US have set similar targets for the coming years, and aim to reduce accidents by five per cent every year. Our state-of-the-art safety systems will make a major contribution to achieving these targets.

It is a different problem in countries such as India, where the number of road deaths is already twice as high as in Europe, even though only eight million cars are on the roads compared to 200 million here. The challenge here is to make safety equipment affordable for low price vehicles too. Second, the aim is to make vehicles as emission-free as possible. Tougher emissions regulations throughout the world, but including the Asian markets - make this objective a top priority.

For example, these countries are about to introduce emissions standards that will make it necessary to employ electronically regulated fuel injection in diesel engines. Our common-rail sales in India and China will increase significantly as a result - from 100,000 systems per country in 2007 to 1.3 million in each by 2010.
With modern technology like this, we will be in a position to at least halve emissions of particulate matter and nitrous oxide over the next 30 years, even if the number of passenger cars on the roads increases more than ten-fold.

As fuel economy increases in the emerging countries, carbon dioxide emissions will increase at a slower rate than the number of vehicles. However, we still have to do our bit to protect the environment, particularly in areas outside Europe, as ecological concerns are going global too.