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)