Bosch Mobility Division to Grow 5% in 2016

Bosch anticipates its Mobility division to grow 5% in 2016 due to expected growth within the industries it serves, and will be dedicating research and development efforts to mobility solutions for the heavy-duty vehicle sector.

Bosch’s Mobility Solutions business sector continues to grow apace. “We want to further accelerate our growth, which is why we are developing innovative services for the mobility of tomorrow alongside our solutions for vehicle electrification, automation and connectivity,” said Dr. Rolf Bulander, chairman of the Bosch Mobility Solutions business sector, at the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2016 show in Hannover. This year, Bosch’s mobility business will grow close to 5%, adjusted for exchange-rate effects. This puts it well ahead of global vehicle production, which is expected to grow by less than 2% in 2016. A large part of Bosch’s growth comes from technology for commercial vehicles, and the business sector already generates a quarter of its sales with systems for light and heavy commercial vehicles. With its newly established “Commercial Vehicle and Off-Road” unit, Bosch plans to intensify its efforts in working on solutions for trucks and off-highway applications. Sales in this segment are expected to double in the next t10 years, with an increased focus on services and solutions, through which Bosch aims to boost the efficiency and security of the logistics ecosystem. 

New emissions standards provide impetus to Bosch business

At the heart of this development is the commercial vehicle powertrain. New emissions regulations have prompted an increase in the demand for modern Bosch diesel systems. As a result, the trucks on the road today are more eco-friendly than just about any other vehicle – adhering to the Euro 6 emissions standard, for instance, even in real traffic conditions. There are also plans to introduce comparable emissions standards in the two growth regions of China and India. By 2020, the proportion of common-rail systems in newly manufactured commercial vehicles worldwide will have risen from 70-90%. Alongside these developments, exhaust-gas treatment is another growth area for Bosch. Systems such as Denoxtronic are forecast to almost double the company’s sales by the end of the decade. Bosch is also bringing more efficiency to the powertrain. By implementing a range of measures – for instance, the electrification of auxiliary units such as the hydraulic pump – it is possible to reduce fuel consumption by up to 10%. Besides systems for heat recovery, Bosch is already working on hybrid and gas drive systems, the alternative drive concepts of the future. 

Software and systems expertise required for automated driving

Commercial vehicles of the future will be fully automated, but getting there is a gradual process. It has begun with assistance systems that provide more and more support to the driver. Some of these, such as automatic emergency braking and lane departure warnings, are already mandatory. In the future, truck drivers will also be assisted when changing lanes, turning, and maneuvering. Bosch accident investigators estimate that, together, these systems will be able to prevent 90 percent of the accidents that are caused by trucks and result in bodily injury. Steering is a key technology in automated driving. Bosch is the global market leader in steering systems for commercial vehicles, and predicts that half the trucks in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. will have electrically assisted steering by 2025. The company is also drawing on its broad, in-depth knowledge of software and systems to pave the way for automated driving. Bosch anticipates that platooning – when trucks on the freeway travel close together in each other’s slipstreams – will be ready for the market by 2025. Bosch will be demonstrating the potential solution at the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2016 show with its “Vision X” concept study

Sensors, software, and services the key to increased transport efficiency

Automated driving means connected driving. In Europe and North America, every new truck will be telematics capable as soon as 2017. Bosch is also playing its part in preparing commercial vehicles for connectivity with its connectivity control unit. The company will more than double its unit sales of this piece of hardware in 2017. For instance, Bosch will be supplying the truck data center for new Daimler trucks. As well as the hardware itself, Bosch also possesses its own IoT cloud, which the company uses to implement smart services such as Secure Truck Parking. From the beginning of 2017, logistics companies and drivers will be able to use this booking platform to reserve secure truck parking bays along freeways. In the coming year, Bosch will also be launching TraQ, a solution that monitors goods using integrated micromechanical sensors and brings more transparency to the logistics chain. These examples go to show that Bosch can boost transport efficiency with logistics services as well as with commercial vehicle technology.

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