German multinational engineering and electronics giant Bosch Group had a record-setting year in 2011 and the outlook remains positive for 2012.
In fiscal year 2011, the company best known for its automotive components achieved worldwide sales of $71.7 billion (€51.5 billion), recording its second highest rate of growth since 2000.
Combined sales in North and South America contributed $12.8 billion, 18 percent of global sales, with Bosch's North American operations accounting for $9.8 billion of that, an increase of 11 percent from the prior year ($8.8 billion) and the highest level of sales in the region for the past decade.
For 2012, Bosch expects its worldwide sales to grow between three and five percent, with even greater growth expected in the Americas.
"In 2011, Bosch achieved solid results in North America,” said Dr. Werner Struth, chairman, president and CEO of Robert Bosch LLC and member of the Bosch board of management. “We continue to closely monitor the economic recovery in the region as well as market trends in all of our business sectors. For the North and South American region, we forecast a near double-digit increase in sales for 2012. Bosch is expanding its business through investments to further strengthen the company."
In North America, Bosch's Automotive Technology business sector recorded sales of $6.3 billion in 2011, compared with $5.6 billion in 2010, a 13 percent increase.
With US vehicle sales in 2020 estimated to reach 17.8 million units, Bosch predicts that more than 90 percent of those vehicles will have an internal combustion engine as the primary powertrain option.
The number of brands offering diesel powered passenger cars in the US is expected to more than double by 2015, and Bosch intends to participate in this growth with its clean diesel systems.
Within the next decade, Bosch plans to generate 20 percent or more of its sales in the Americas.
The pending acquisition of the Service Solutions business of SPX Corporation will expand the Automotive Aftermarket division and strengthen Bosch's focus on diagnostics, an area that is important to the company.
