Bosch Organization Shuffle Takes Aim at Software-Driven Opportunities

Tier 1 giant Robert Bosch will undergo a major reorganization with a newly formed Bosch Mobility subsidiary aimed at capitalizing on the industry’s transition to the software-defined vehicle and digital economy.

The announcement of the new setup is to be made today at Bosch’s annual press conference in Stuttgart, Germany.

Bosch sees the automotive software market growing to $210 billion annually by 2030, and the reorganization is designed to get the German supplier a major share of that revenue. Bosch says its sales in the sector are growing by double digits and it currently allocates more than 30% of its product-development allocation toward software.

 “Software won’t only change how we use and experience cars in the future,” Markus Heyn, member of the board of management and the executive who will chair the five-person Bosch Mobility sector board, says in a release detailing today’s announcement. “It will also change the way cars are engineered.

“For some time now, Bosch has also seen itself as a mobility software company. Now, in response to customer requirements, our structure is changing to reflect this and to open up further growth.”

Bosch says the reorganization will be effective Jan. 1, with the new sector expected to grow revenue 6% annually to more than $84 billion globally by 2029. Some of the company’s divisions will be regrouped under Bosch Mobility, while others will have cross-divisional responsibilities in order to support the new organization.

The sector will consist of seven units, including Electrified Motion (electric motors), Vehicle Motion (vehicle dynamics), Power Solutions (combustion-engine technology), Cross Domain Computing Solutions (automated-driving software) and Mobility Electronics (control units) divisions.

Rounding out the group will be the Mobility Aftermarket (spare parts and Bosch Car Service franchise operation) and E-Bike Systems (e-bike components) divisions. Bosch’s ETAS subsidiary will have horizontal responsibility for hardware-agnostic software for operating systems and engineering tools.

The new sector will comprise 230,000 employees at more than 300 locations in 66 countries.

“We want to remain a leading supplier of technology and the preferred partner for our customers in the mobility industry. We’re preparing the ground for this,” Bosch Chairman Stefan Hartung says in announcing the new organization.

Bosch says it exceeded its financial targets in 2022, with sales reaching $93 billion, up from $83 billion in 2021. Earnings before interest and taxes reached $4 billion, up from prior year’s $3.4 billion.

“We rose well to the challenges of 2022 – both our sales and our margin were higher than expected,” Hartung says. “And even if the economic and social environment remains demanding, we want to grow significantly faster.”