Bosch and Mahle plan joint venture to develop and manufacture exhaust gas turbochargers

STUTTGART - Robert Bosch GmbH and MAHLE GmbH have agreed to establish a fifty-fifty joint venture to develop, manufacture, and market exhaust gas turbochargers. It is planned to commence the joint venture in April 2008. The company, which will be called "Bosch Mahle Turbo Systems," will be headquartered in Stuttgart. The joint venture partners plan to work together to develop and manufacture turbochargers for gasoline and diesel engines, and to market them worldwide. Series production is supposed to start in 2010. The foundation of the joint venture is still subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

As part of the downsizing concept for the engines of the future, exhaust gas turbochargers are one of the key technologies for achieving a sustained cut in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The use of exhaust gas turbochargers is already common in modern diesel engines, and they are expected to become more prevalent in gasoline engines as well. This also calls for more widespread use of advanced injection technologies. This is an area in which Bosch already occupies a globally leading position, both with gasoline direct injection and with common-rail technology for diesel engines. MAHLE has many years of experience in the development and manufacture of high temperature-resistant turbocharger components. In addition, its subsidiary MAHLE Powertrain specializes in the development, design, and application of turbocharged engines. Both partners in the new joint venture can therefore draw on extensive engine-systems know-how, as well as competence in large-scale series production of ultra-precision components in and around the engine.

"This joint venture will now allow us to offer our customers from a single source a complete product portfolio for reducing fuel consumption and emissions," said Dr.-Ing. Bernd Bohr, chairman of the Bosch Automotive Group. Prof. Dr. Heinz K. Junker, chairman of the Management Board and CEO of the MAHLE Group, added: "With their systems and components know-how, MAHLE and Bosch complement each other ideally as partners for the development of new exhaust gas turbochargers. Moreover, the two companies are names to be reckoned within the automotive powertrain field."