CHENGDU, China – Bosch has opened a new plant in Chengdu, western China. The plant covers a total of some 127,000 square meters and will manufacture safety systems such as the ABS antilock braking system and the ESP electronic stability program for local customers. 
Bosch says it will invest roughly 100 million euros (roughly $134 million in U.S. dollars) in the location in the years ahead. Of this amount, 35 million euros (approximately $47 million) have already been spent on the first construction phase.
According to Dr. Dirk Hoheisel, who sits on the Bosch board of management, the new manufacturing facility will strengthen the company’s local presence.
“Chinese drivers are placing increasing importance on road safety. Like in other regions, this is causing increased demand for safety systems,” said Hoheisel at the official opening ceremony. “Our new Chengdu plant underlines our great confidence in the world’s largest automotive market. And, by manufacturing locally, we can react better and faster to the requirements of our western Chinese customers.”
The new plant will become part of Bosch’s Chassis Systems Control division, which manufactures and develops components and systems for active and passive safety, as well as driver assistance systems. Worldwide, Chassis Systems Control employs some 16,000 associates at more than 35 locations. It has had a manufacturing facility in Suzhou, near Shanghai, since 2002. To allow these safety systems to be tested, Bosch opened an additional test track in Donghai, in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, in June this year.
Bosch has been present in China since 1909. Today, Bosch China has some 34,000 associates, working in the automotive technology, industrial technology, consumer goods, and energy and building technology business sectors at 58 locations. Following Germany and the U.S., China is Bosch’s third largest market. It generated sales of some 5.1 billion euros ($6.8 billion) in 2012.
