Bosch will expand its aftermarket business activities further, according to a statement made by Bosch board member Peter Tyroller at the Automechanika trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany.
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“We want to offer our customers an optimum product portfolio and so continue to grow in the future. We will achieve this goal both through innovations and by pushing ahead with our acquisition strategy aimed at balancing out the business across the various sectors and regions,” said Tyroller.
“The areas within Bosch Automotive Aftermarket that offer particular potential for growth include all aspects of wheel technology for workshops, the air-conditioning service business, diesel spare parts, brake spare parts, and replacement parts within the Bosch Exchange range,” said Tyroller.
Plans are also underway within the division to expand the Bosch Service workshop network. The network currently comprises over 14,000 workshops around the world. Bosch is planning to significantly increase this figure by 2014 in countries such as India, Russia, and the USA.
In 2007 Bosch achieved a turnover of around 3.3bn euros in aftermarket sales. An important step recently was the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture with Daimler called North American Fuel Systems LLC. The venture is designed to exploit the market for repair and remanufacture of diesel components, building on the Daimler remanufacturing activities of Daimler subsidiary Detroit Diesel. Bosch should be able to help add scale by bringing components from other manufacturers into the business.
Remanufacturing is also a growing business in emerging markets. Drivers often seek remanufactured replacement parts, which can be 20-30% cheaper than equivalent new parts.
Bosch currently offers starters, generators, injectors and brake system components, sensors and air-conditioning compressors through its ‘exchange’ programme. Around 2.5m components are exchanged through the programme each year.
Earlier this year Bosch acquired the Danish company, Holger Christiansen, which helped expand its electric component replacement programme.
Bosch is currently planning a cooperation with another Danish firm, Agramkow Fluid Systems, to offer servicing for CO2 based air-conditioning units. This would make it one of the first companies to offer CO2 air-conditioning servicing, according to Tyroller.
