In electromobility, no other company offers as many options as Bosch: from e-bikes to construction machinery, and from silicon carbide chips to pre-integrated e-axle modules. And this is paying off: in electromobility, Bosch is growing twice as fast as the market and will generate more than 1 billion euros in sales this year. This business is continuing to gain speed: by 2025, sales are expected to grow five-fold.
Electric driving – breakthrough thanks to Bosch high-tech
Electromobility will be the next chapter in the Bosch success story. With upfront investments totaling 5 billion euros so far and the most efficient electrical powertrain solutions in the market, the company is helping it to a breakthrough. This year alone, upfront investments will come to another 700 million euros. Bosch sees itself as a proactive company that shapes the future.
Bosch technology helps make people’s everyday lives easier. When driving electrically, recharging plays a decisive role. In Munich, Bosch is premiering a new flexible charging cable for electric cars. It features integrated control and safety technology and adapters for Type 2 and household plugs. Even when recharging at a 230-volt power socket, it can do without the otherwise usual in-cable control box, which means that it weighs less than three kilograms – some 40 percent less than conventional charging cables featuring control boxes. And to relieve drivers of the chore of looking for somewhere to recharge on their journeys, the Bosch web-based recharging service gives them access to more than 200,000 charge spots in Europe – including hassle-free payment.
Autonomous driving – Bosch offers everything from a single source
Domain control units, sensors, artificial intelligence: the Bosch portfolio contains all the elements of automated driving, and the company has some 5,000 engineers working on all its levels. Not least among these elements are enhanced assistance functions that allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel. And completely driverless functions are also already possible thanks to Bosch.
The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the world’s first production vehicle to feature the technology needed for this. So that driverless vehicles can navigate by smartphone command to a reserved parking bay, Bosch is equipping the parking garage with technology such as fixed-installation video cameras. A further 1,000 parking garages are expected to follow suit by 2025. For all the extra convenience associated with such developments, Bosch sees automated driving above all as something that can make road traffic safer. Bosch pioneered systems ranging from electronic skid control to automatic emergency braking and continues to pursue the goal of accident-free driving. At the same time, the company is providing innovative software as the basis for the intelligence cars need to have.
Connected driving – Bosch thinks beyond the engine hood
As Bosch predicted ten years ago, vehicles are increasingly turning into internet nodes. In the future, the software will be just as important as powertrain performance or efficiency. Bosch is actively shaping this change. And the company is well-positioned for this: nearly half the R&D associates in the Mobility Solutions business sector are software engineers. Even the bicycle is becoming part of the internet, as evidenced by the new Bosch eBike Flow app. For example, it enables the software in components to be updated. In addition, software integration is becoming more and more important: here as well, Bosch has the necessary expertise. Take infotainment computers: by 2025, their computing power and software complexity will double. Bosch ensures that the various software modules work reliably with each other. When it comes to connectivity, moreover, the company’s ideas go far beyond vehicles.
