Bosch to invest Rs 8500 Mn to ramp up capacity

By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 11 December 2007, 17:09 IST
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Mumbai: Ramping up its capacity and adding new facilities, the global auto component major Bosch Group, the parent company of the listed Motor Industries (Mico), will invest Rs 8500 million by 2010. This will take its final investment to Rs 26.5 billion in a span of five years starting 2005, reports Business Standard. Targeting a robust annual growth of 20-25 percent in turnover in the next 3-4 years, the company will set up engineering and manufacturing facilities for gasoline systems, electronic control units and ABS (anti-lock braking systems) between 2008-09. This will take its annual sales to nearly Rs 90 billion by 2010, from Rs 57 billion currently, including exports. In addition, Mico will now be rechristened Bosch, subject to approval of the shareholders and registrar of companies. Mico is all set to get an Indian head -V K Viswanathan - from February 1. Currently the joint Managing Director, Viswanathan will replace Albert Hieronimus, the current Managing Director. Bernd Bohr, Chairman-Automotive Group, Bosch, said, "India's dynamic growth is clearly reflected in our company's performance. Our response to India's strong economic growth and increasing motorization is to expand local development and manufacturing." As Indian companies experiment with new class of cars, the sub-compact, ultra low-cost car, the company is looking to grab a significant share of the segment which includes the Tata Motors' Rs 1 lakh car and similar projects of other manufacturers. Currently, the company has an agreement to sell engine components for Tata Motors' Rs 1 lakh car. Mico is targetting to hike the production of common rail units (used in diesel engines) to 2 million units by 2013 from 100,000 units now. According to a study done by the group, almost every second car sold in the country will be a diesel based within three years from now. Diesel cars will have a 45 percent market share by 2010, from 30 percent currently. Mico’s projections for 2010 suggest that 4.7 million Indian vehicles will be fitted with Bosch brakes. As Asia remains the fastest growing market in the world, the group is targeting a revenue generation of about 16 percent of its worldwide revenue here. According to a study, annual car sales will grow by six percent worldwide and 13 percent in India between now and 2015.