Bosch's sales hit a record high in China

Sales of Robert Bosch GmbH in China reached a record high of 77 billion yuan ($11.8 billion; 10.4 billion euros) last year, as the German technology and service supplier underwent its biggest expansion amid China's industrial upgrading boom, senior executives said on May 12.

The company says this year it will focus on four areas - connected mobility, connected industry, smart home and smart city - to enhance its earning ability from China's Internet Plus initiative.

Peter Tyroller, the member of Bosch's management board responsible for the Asia-Pacific region, says the sales record was achieved despite a less dynamic market environment. China's share in Bosch's global sales climbed to 16 percent last year - making it the group's largest market outside Germany.

"We continue to see many opportunities in the local market and also in the new normal of the Chinese economy - especially for our business with connected products and solutions," says Tyroller.

New normal refers to China now moving up the value chain amid a developing economic model of slower but quality growth. This development has reshaped many international companies' business policies and investment strategies in the country.

Bosch says its mobility solutions unit continued positive growth in line with the development of the Chinese automotive market in 2015. Meanwhile, the consumer goods business recorded healthy growth, according to the company's 2015 financial report on its Chinese operations.

With the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in BSH Hausgerate GmbH, previously owned by Siemens AG, Bosch says it further extended its position in the Chinese home appliance market.

It says industrial technology, as well as energy and building technology business sectors, were impacted last year by the slowdown of domestic infrastructure investment. But fresh opportunities remained.

"Focusing on areas such as industrial upgrades, environmental protection, electrified mobility, and on driving forward connectivity with the Internet Plus initiative, China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) presents many new opportunities for Bosch," says Chen Yudong, president of Bosch in China.

The company has invested 18 billion yuan in China over the past five years, with investments totaling 5.2 billion yuan in 2015 alone. Chen says the group plans to invest on a similar level this year as it aims to drive internet connectivity forward and promote industry upgrades in China.

Bosch employs 55,000 people in China, its biggest single workforce outside its home market.

It now has a number of pilot projects in Industry 4.0, the high-tech strategy initiative that promotes the computerization of manufacturing.

They are in its plants in Suzhou, Shanghai, Wuxi, Changsha, Nanjing, Beijing, Changzhou and Xi'an.

"We can connect mobility with energy, building and industrial technology to offer cross-domain services - something few other companies can," Chen says.

"China's fast-growing 4G network will build a solid foundation for its manufacturers. This in turn will benefit greener, more efficient and sustainable development."

Bosch plans to recruit some 14,000 university graduates worldwide this year - 2,500 of them in China, among which over 500 will be for software expertise.

Zhao Ying, a researcher at the Beijing-based Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the trend toward internet-connected industrial operations will consume less energy, as companies are organized to optimize machine usage, labor, and product and service delivery.