Bosch Group, one of the leading global auto parts makers, has
announced that its investment on automotive safety technologies in
China will total over 170 million euros by the end of this
year.
"As a pioneer in automotive safety technologies with extensive
international experience, Bosch will partner with the local
automotive industry to support China's efforts in reducing road
accidents by both providing latest technologies and promoting
automobile safety technology," said Rudolf Colm, member of the
company's board of management, at an auto safety symposium jointly
hosted by Bosch and the China Association of Automobile
Manufacturers at the 2007 Shanghai Auto Show.
The German company will invest around 100 million yuan to
establish a winter test track in North China's Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region this year. It will consist of an icy test track
and a ground test track. Upon its completion in 2008, it will be
the largest winter test track in China.
The investment will step up Bosch's local engineering capability
and help to bring advanced technologies to Bosch's customers in
China.
Apart from the Inner Mongolia project, the investment of 170
million euros includes an injection of more than 110 million euros
in production, research and development, laboratories and test
facilities in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.
Also planned are some 2 million euros in the recently
inaugurated vehicle verification road in Suzhou and 50 million
euros in the Dalian plant of the Pacifica Group, an Australian
automotive technology company in which Bosch has acquired a
controlling stake.
"Increased automotive safety has been a global concern in the
past decades. We will draw from our experiences worldwide to
fulfill our commitment to making driving safer in China. Bosch has
already put local development and application facilities in place
to support the need for auto safety in China," said Peter Pang,
president of Bosch (China) Investment Ltd.
"We will work closely with local car manufacturers to develop
and promote both active and passive safety functions," Pang
added.
(China Daily April 26, 2007)