Bosch Supports Insurance Institute Findings Regarding Broad Value of Electronic Stability Control

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., June 13 -- A study released today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) offers key findings which show increased safety benefits of electronic stability control (ESC) including:

* If installed on all vehicles, ESC could prevent nearly one-third of fatal crashes each year, up to 10,000 in total;

* ESC reduces rollover risk by as much as 80 percent; and,

* Insurance losses under collision coverage are approximately 15 percent lower for vehicles equipped with ESC.

"The IIHS study reveals the far-reaching benefits of ESC," said Rich Golitko, director, product communication and promotion Robert Bosch Corporation. "From saving the lives of occupants in both single- and multi- vehicle crashes to reducing the financial burden associated with crashes, the value of ESC has never been clearer."

Bosch, the company that pioneered ESC, first brought the technology to market on the 1995 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Today, Bosch ESC is featured on such vehicles as the BMW X3, BMW X5, Buick LaCrosse, Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Camry.

ESC is available as standard equipment on 40 percent of 2006 passenger vehicle models and optional on another 15 percent.

Bosch has expanded the functionality of ESC to include features such as roll mitigation function (RMF), used to aid in the prevention of vehicle rollover in high center of gravity vehicles, and trailer sway mitigation (TSM), used to prevent unstable oscillations and trailer sway. Bosch also offers other value-added ESC functions, including hill descent control, hill hold control, soft stop, traffic jam assist and controlled deceleration driver assistance systems.

Recently, Bosch launched http://www.bosch-escential.com/ to provide information needed for consumers to understand the safety benefits of ESC. In addition to a basic overview of ESC, the site includes games, animations and studies that discuss the technology's effectiveness.

The Bosch Group is a leading global manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. In fiscal 2005, some 251,000 associates generated sales of 41.5 billion euros. Set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering," the Bosch Group today comprises a manufacturing, sales, and after-sales service network of more than 280 subsidiaries and more than 12,000 Bosch service centers in over 140 countries.

In North America, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial automation and mobile products, power tools and accessories, security technology, thermo-technology, packaging equipment and household appliances. Bosch employs 22,700 associates in more than 80 primary and 20 associated facilities throughout the region with reported sales of $8.4 billion in 2005. This year marks Bosch's 100th year of operating in the U.S. For more information on the company and the Centennial, visit http://www.bosch.us/ .