Further expansion of activities in India
Bosch and Igarashi Motors India establish joint venture

• Development, manufacture, and sale of automotive components forgrowing Indian automotive market
• With 51 percent shareholding, Bosch has industrial leadership
• Start of production in Chennai, India, in second half of 2008
• Roughly 100 associates to be working in Chennai by end of 2008

Stuttgart/Germany and Chennai/India - Robert Bosch GmbH and Igarashi Motors India Ltd. (IMIL) have established a joint venture. The new company will start operations in the second half of 2008 for developing, manufacturing and selling DC Motors and Systems for Wiper, HVAC, Engine Cooling and Window lift applications for the fast growing Indian automotive market. The joint venture will be headquartered in Chennai, India. With a 51 percent shareholding, Bosch will have the industrial leadership in the joint venture and IMIL will hold 49 percent of the shares. By the end of 2008, it is planned that the joint venture will employ roughly 100 associates.

“With this joint venture, we are expanding our range of products manufactured locally in India. In this way, we offer our local customers the best possible support in the further motorization of India,” said Mr. V K Viswanathan, Managing Director of Bosch Limited and Bosch representative in India. Dr. K.K. Nohria, Chairman of Igarashi Motors India Ltd., said: “Technologically, Igarashi and Bosch are a perfect fit, with each one’s strength complementing the other. Together, we want to exploit the market potential of DC motors and other automotive components in the Indian market.”

In India, Bosch employs some 18,000 associates. Its sales with customers in India increased by nearly 20 percent in 2007 to roughly 815 million euros. The company has been manufacturing in India since 1954, and now has eleven manufacturing sites and four development centers in the country. Igarashi Motors India Limited (IMIL) is a publicly listed company,headquartered in Chennai. Its roughly 1,200 associates generated sales of some 70 million US-dollars in 2007. The company develops, manufactures, and sells DC motors for application in the automotive and non-automotive fields. IMIL commenced regular operations in India from 1995 and its
majority shareholding is by the Igarashi family from Japan who has been in the business of Electric motors for over 50 years.

Press contact:
India: Sanjay Chakravarty
Tel: +91 80 22996168
Email : rana.mathew@in.bosch.com 

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 272,000 associates generated sales of 46.1 billion euros in fiscal 2007. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 300 subsidiary and regional companies in over 50 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Bosch spends more than three billion euros each year for research and development, and in 2006 applied for over 3,000 patents worldwide. The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.”

The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninetytwo
percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.

Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.