The Bosch Group at a glance

Mobility Solutions is the biggest Bosch Group business sector, accounting for 59 percent of total sales. Bosch is one of the leading automotive suppliers. In this role, it is pursuing a vision of mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. As a supplier of automotive original equipment, Bosch is involved in many diverse fields. Organizationally, these are covered by the Powertrain Solutions, Chassis Systems Control, Electrical Drives, Automotive Electronics, and Automotive Steering divisions. In addition, the Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division was set up at the start of 2021. Beyond the original equipment segment, its other divisions are Automotive Aftermarket, the service provider Connected Mobility Solutions, and Bosch eBike Systems. Further activities involve two-wheelers, commercial as well as off-highway vehicles, and engineering services. In response to the profound structural change in the automotive sector, Bosch above all takes a technology-neutral stance toward powertrain development, including renewable synthetic fuels. In 2020 alone, Bosch made upfront investments of around 500 million euros in electromobility, including fuel cells. Bosch is also systematically improving its driver assistance systems for automation levels 1 and 2, working on hands-free highway assist systems, and developing automated driving to SAE levels 3 and 4. With its Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division, Bosch is responding to the changing requirements in the rapidly growing market for software-intensive electronic systems in the automotive sector.

In the business year 2020, the Industrial Technology business sector generated 7 percent of total Bosch Group sales. This business sector includes the Drive and Control Technology division, which specializes in drive and control technologies for efficient and powerful movement in machines and systems of any type and size. The division combines global application experience in the market segments of mobile applications, plant construction and engineering, and factory automation. With intelligent components, customized system solutions, and services, Drive and Control Technology creates the necessary environment for fully connected applications. The division offers its customers hydraulics, electric drives and controls, gear technology, and linear motion and assembly technology, including software and interfaces to the internet of things. Bosch’s largely in-house provider of assembly systems, Robert Bosch Manufacturing Solutions GmbH, develops flexible, scalable plans for assembly systems, customized solutions in the field of testing and process technology, and related services. The Bosch Connected Industry business unit is also part of Industrial Technology. With a focus on Industry 4.0, it develops software solutions and carries out projects for internal and external customers.

The Consumer Goods business sector contributed some 26 percent of total Bosch Group sales in 2020. Its Power Tools division is a supplier of power tools and garden tools, power-tool accessories, and measuring technology. Its extensive product range is aimed at both professional users in trade and industry and the DIY market. One of the division’s focal points is convenient, high-performance cordless tools, and increasingly also web-enabled tools and services. The key pillars of the division’s strategy are innovativeness, continuing digitalization, strong brands, the continued growth of online retail, and expansion of business in emerging markets. User experience — the focus on user needs in product and service development — is a decisive success factor in these endeavors. The Consumer Goods business sector also includes BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, which offers a broad range of modern, energy-efficient, and increasingly connected household appliances. Its product portfolio ranges from washing machines and tumble dryers through refrigerators and freezers, stoves, ovens, extractor hoods, and dishwashers, to small appliances such as vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, and food processors. The strategy of BSH Hausgeräte focuses on product innovations, on services triggered by connectivity, and on the expansion of digital business models. In the shape of Home Connect, BSH Hausgeräte offers an ecosystem with a cross-brand digital platform for home appliances. Here, it collaborates with many different partners. It aims to use the possibilities offered by digitalization to further expand direct consumer contact.

In 2020, the Energy and Building Technology business sector generated 8 percent of total Bosch Group sales. Its Building Technologies division has two areas of business: the global product business for security and communications solutions, and the regional system integration business. The latter offers solutions and customized services for building security, energy efficiency, and building automation in selected countries. Both units focus on commercial buildings and infrastructure projects. The product portfolio encompasses video-surveillance, intrusion-detection, fire-detection, and voice-alarm systems, as well as access-control and professional audio and conference systems. The Thermotechnology division offers solutions for heating and indoor climate control, hot water, and decentralized energy management to customers worldwide. It provides heating and air-conditioning systems, plus energy management for residential buildings, water heaters, and plant construction business for commercial and industrial heating and air-conditioning systems. Electrification and renewables are also becoming increasingly important due to tougher requirements for reducing CO2 emissions. Here, the division is focusing on innovation, in addition to improving the efficiency of existing products and enhancing the connectivity capability of its devices. The Bosch Global Service Solutions division provides business processes and services, primarily for customers in the automotive, financial services, and logistics industries, and in information and communications technology. Robert Bosch Smart Home GmbH offers web-enabled, app-controlled products for the home.