Bosch reveals $1B investment to build EV parts facility in China

Bosch engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany, has revealed its plans to spend $1 billion as an investment for electric car components manufacturing plant in China.

According to CNN Business, Bosch will build a facility for research and development (R&D) and manufacturing of EV parts that will be used for new energy EVs and automated-driving technology in Suzhou, a city located in the west of Shanghai.

The company said that investment would be put into the project over the next years. Bosch shared that it expects the completion of the first phase of the new facility by mid-2024. Robert Bosch GmbH is spending $1 billion to produce electric vehicle parts in China as it hopes to turn the country’s retreat from the combustion engine to its advantage.

“China is the world’s largest auto market, full of promise and vitality,” Bosch’s chief executive officer and chairman of the board of management, Stefan Hartung, said in a statement. “As a multinational enterprise, we need to make full use of the country’s local R&D capability and production capacity.”

Bloomberg further reported that with the upcoming EV component manufacturing facility in Suzhou, Bosch would start developing parts for electric cars. It will also carry out testing and, finally, the production of the components and automated-driving technology that will be mainly supplied to automakers in China.

“This is an important step on the way to future mobility in the world’s largest car market,” the Bosch CEO said in another statement.

Meanwhile, Bosch currently employs about 55,000 workers in China as it is already operating in the country. With its new plant that will focus on technology such as integrated braking systems and silicon carbide power modules, its workforce is expected to increase. Finally, the company’s announcement of a $1 billion investment comes just two months after Olaf Scholz, a German Chancellor, visited China along with several top executives.

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