DRIVING DIESEL TECH: Bernd Bohr (right), Member, Board of Management, and Chairman Automotive Group, Robert Bosch GmbH, and Dr Albert Hieronimus, Managing Director, Motor Industries Company Ltd., at a press conference in Bangalore on Thursday. — Photo: G. R. N. Somashekar

BANGALORE: German industrial giant Bosch Group has launched its manufacturing facility here for common rail high pressure pumps.

Out of its planned investment of Rs. 1,800 crore in India between 2005 and 2008, Bosch has earmarked Rs. 550 crore for the establishment and expansion of common rail system production in Nashik and Bangalore.

The new production line here has an initial installed capacity of up to 1,000 common rail high pressure pumps a day. Bosch has been manufacturing common rail injector components at its Nashik facility since the beginning of this year and has a current capacity of 4,000 injector component sets a day.

It plans to start production of complete common rail injectors in the same facility in 2007. "Diesel vehicles are becoming increasingly popular in India,'' said Bernd Bohr, Member, Board of Management, Robert Bosch GmbH.

"We expect to see diesel's share in the Indian car and utility vehicle market rise from the current 30 per cent to more than 40 per cent by 2010, and Bosch is well positioned to support this growth. We have designed our new manufacturing facilities so that we can flexibly serve the requirements of automakers, especially the local manufacturers,'' he said.

In 2005, Bosch sold around 40,000 common rail systems in India. In 2010, this is expected to be as high as 600,000 systems.

Almost every automaker in India has announced plans to launch diesel cars with common rail technology. On an average, diesel engines consume around 30 per cent less fuel than a comparable gasoline engine and emit significantly less oxides of carbon. Besides, diesel is 30 per cent less expensive than gasoline in India.

Dr. Bohr said India was one of the growth motors for Bosch's business in Asia Pacific. With around 1.3 million cars and utility vehicles manufactured in 2005, India was already Asia's fourth largest car market and the world's largest market for motorcycles, tractors and three-wheelers. "Given the growth predictions, India could be one of the world's five most important automobile markets by the beginning of the next decade,'' Dr. Bohr said.

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