Bosch Limited
India was previously a sales organization for Power Tools reporting to Chinese headquarters. Now, India is a region managing Power Tools for SAARC countries, with no current plans for new manufacturing plants in those countries. All operations will continue to export from the existing plant in Chennai.
The thought process hasn't changed; the core market remains India. The company has improved cost competitiveness, making India attractive for certain volumes. The increase in imports is due to technology changes, particularly in the transition from conventional to common rail products, which will initially require higher imports until localization is achieved.
Localization is crucial for improving gross margins, especially with the shift to common rail systems, which have a higher material share. A project team is screening the supplier market for future components in electrified powertrains.
Yes, the broad expectation of growth holds, although Q1 is expected to be moderate due to elections and seasonal factors.
The company will spend whatever is necessary for feasible and profitable localization.
While we do not want to give specific guidance on margins, technology changes present opportunities and challenges. Balancing localization timing and costs is crucial to avoid negative impacts on margins.
Our balance sheet is strong, and whenever localization, MAE, investment, or capex is feasible and contributes to the top line or bottom line, we will make this capex and investment.
I do not want to speculate on sensitive information. We are continuously reviewing our portfolio for better alignment with our internal goals and customer needs in India and export markets. We will keep you updated on any Board decisions.
Yes, there was a one-off in the last quarter due to low other expenses from a forex impact. This quarter, we see a reversal impact and a provision for a special warranty case.
We would not like to disclose specific segment revenue numbers at this time, but we can look into it in the future.
Our capex planning is not necessarily connected to DVA approvals. We have invested significantly in capex and will continue to do so when localizations make sense. DVA and PLI benefits are an added bonus. We are an applicant in the PLI scheme but have not received formal confirmation on DVA approval yet.
Our general philosophy is to invest in line with ramp-up volumes for new technologies. We ensure that our manufacturing operations are at optimum levels and avoid early investments that could lead to wasted capacities and fixed costs.
2-wheelers are already a significant part of our portfolio, with engine management systems and sensor components. We expect this trend to continue with the premiumization of higher cc motorbikes.
We are set up to be local for local, focusing on Indian OEMs. However, due to geopolitical issues and changes in fuel emission norms, exports are becoming an attractive proposition for enhancing utilization and changing production dynamics.
The benefits depend on product categories and agreements. Generally, the eventual benefit should be seen by the consumer, with value chain benefits passed on.
We anticipate a slowdown in EV penetration but expect good growth rates compared to traditional combustion vehicles. Our portfolio includes engine management systems for hybrids, but we currently do not manufacture battery systems.
We wish lots of success for this. We have our components going into many of the EV launches coming up. It's maybe too early to speculate what will happen, our diesel share will go down over a long period of time. We will stay with that and in parallel, we will do everything to have a very successful, profitable EV portfolio for the OEMs in India.