Bosch is now assuming full control of EM-motive, one of Europe’s most successful manufacturers of electric motors. Bosch and Daimler set up EM-motive GmbH as a 50-50 joint venture in 2011. Since then, it has manufactured some 450,000 electric motors.
“For Bosch, the complete acquisition of EM-motive is the next logical step on the path to becoming the market leader for electromobility. It’s a chance to establish an even broader presence in the market,” said Dr. Stefan Hartung, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH and chairman of its Mobility Solutions business sector.
The change in ownership structure will not have any immediate effect on the roughly 340 EM-motive associates currently working at the locations in Stuttgart and Hildesheim, Germany. Bosch had secured an option to buy the shares at the very beginning of the joint venture.
“The company’s electric motors are already featured in vehicles made by Daimler, Porsche, Fiat, Volvo, Peugeot and StreetScooter, among others. With this move, Bosch above all intends to acquire new customers in the rapidly growing global market,” said Dr. Mathias Pillin, the member of the Powertrain Solutions executive management responsible for the electric-vehicle market segment.
The existing company EM-motive GmbH will be transferred to Robert Bosch GmbH. The acquisition of the shares is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.
The two parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price or any further details of the acquisition. The EM-motive joint venture was set up to make it economical for the two partners to enter electric-motor manufacturing: given the initially small batch sizes, the two companies were able to share the high capital cost of developing and manufacturing electric motors. As a result, Bosch and Daimler were able to enter electric-motor production early.
The motor is a key component in the electrical powertrain: The more efficiently it works, the less energy it consumes, which not only means greater range, but also significantly lower operating costs. Even now, the electromobility business is growing rapidly, and by the start of the next decade at the latest, it will have developed into a mass market, according to Bosch.
