Bosch readies Rs 800-cr annual capex for next few years

Auto component major Bosch is looking to invest up to Rs 800 crore annually for the next few years as it aims to develop its Bengaluru-based headquarters into a modern technology park and move out the manufacturing operation from the facility to a new location.
The group, which currently has a turnover of around Rs 18,000 crore and employs over 30,000 people across 10 legal entities, expects its growth in India to continue in a steady manner.
"If you look at the Bosch India story, in the last five years, we have been investing anywhere between Rs 650 crore to Rs 900 crore annually," Bosch Ltd MD Soumitra Bhattacharya told PTI in an interview.

The investment pattern is likely to continue, subject to business conditions.
"I anticipate that the trend of our capex we have had will continue for the next few years and that is between Rs 650 crore to Rs 800 crore per annum. It will, however, be dependent on the business conditions and may vary accordingly," he said.
Elaborating, he said the group is putting in the capex for making its factories "more connected and intelligent" and transforming its Bengaluru facility into a modern technology centre that will cater to all the divisions of the group.

The group is shifting manufacturing from its Bengaluru facility to a new plant on the Mysore road and making it a non-manufacturing zone.

The first phase of the plant is already complete.
"By 2019, the second phase will be over. So, we would have shifted our mother plant. We are making this plant a technology park," Bhattacharya said.
Over the last two years, around 3,000 people from the group's engineering company have joined the technology park, he added.
"Now, the base will double or triple in coming years, depending on the business environment, and many more techies will come into the system," Bhattacharya hoped.
Bosch considers both China and India as bright spots in the Asia-Pacific.
"If you look at Bosch's global turnover, the Asia-Pacific contributes 28 per cent of the global turnover and this is the fastest-growing region in Bosch's world. Within that, the biggest chance of growth in future is China naturally and also India," Bhattacharya said.

On Indian operations, he added: "(As for) India, I can say we are on the cusp of growth now and we are expecting that it would not be spectacular but steady growth."
The group generates 85 per cent of its turnover in the country from automotive business. Non-mobility business constitutes the rest.
"The Bosch group in India had a CAGR of around 10-11 per cent over the last 5-6 years. So, we want to maintain and improve on that CAGR," Bhattacharya said.
Going ahead, the group expects to grow in double digits.