Following a record year in 2015, Bosch is keen on continuing the growth trend this year too.
“We plan to grow not only with innovative products, but also with innovative services,” said Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Board of Management, at the annual press conference at Bosch's research campus in Renningen, Germany, on Wednesday.
Despite a subdued economic outlook and geopolitical uncertainty, the company expects sales to grow between three and five percent in 2016. If the first quarter's slowdown continues in certain regions and markets, growth will be at the lower end of the forecast scale.
In the subdued market environment of Q1 of 2016, Bosch saw a year-on-year sales increase of roughly four percent after adjusting for exchange-rate effects. This was achieved despite the very strong nominal growth of last year’s Q1.
“We are increasingly using connected services to build on our broad basis in the hardware business. In the future, customers will not only come across Bosch in their cars and kitchens. Connected services will make it a constant companion in many aspects of their daily lives,” said Denner.
In 2015, Bosch Group sales reached an all-time high of 70.6 billion euros. The full acquisition of two former joint ventures, BSH Hausgeräte GmbH and Robert Bosch Automotive Steering GmbH, pushed sales up by almost 22 billion euros, or 44 percent.
“Our ambition is to develop innovations that actively help shape our markets,” said Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, CFO and Deputy Chairman. “Our business performance in 2015 shows that this strategy is paying off and we will continue pursuing it in 2016 as well.”
Bosch's portfolio in mobility solutions extends beyond the car. It is working with several partners on realising a software-based mobility assistant for intermodal transportation.
It offers users in the greater Stuttgart area the ability to plan, reserve, and pay for tickets for various forms of transport, including cars, bicycles, trains, and buses, all via a single app.
Similarly, connected parking will also have a strong service component. At present, searching for a parking space in German cities takes an average of ten minutes and accounts for 30 percent of inner-city traffic, Bosch solutions will soon make this a thing of the past.