Shanghai, April 21, 2005 — The Bosch Group, the world’s No.1 automotive supplier, presented its further plans for the Chinese market. At a press conference given at Auto Shanghai 2005, Dr. Rudolf Colm, Member of the Board of Management and Head of Asia Pacific Operations of the Bosch Group, said: “In accordance with our promise and commitment to grow with China’s auto industry, Bosch China will invest another 600 million USD by the end of 2007.” One of the main messages of the press conference was that “Technology Achieves the Beauty of Life”.

China has become a major player in the international automotive market. By 2006, it is expected to overtake Germany as the third largest vehicle producer behind the United States and Japan. In order to support this kind of phenomenal growth and ensure the success of China’s overall auto industry, the automotive components industry will be vitally important.

As a reflection of Bosch’s ambition to be the leader in fostering the automotive industry’s growth, Colm declared, “Having done business in China for nearly one hundred years, Bosch, as the inventor of many automotive technology innovations and a leading force in the world’s automotive components industry, pledges to invest in China another 600 million USD until 2007. We feel this demonstrates our confidence in and further commitment to this market.”

When talking about Bosch’s strategy in China, Peter Pang, President of Bosch (China) Investment Co. Ltd, stressed: “With our committed people, investments and our leading technology, Bosch will support the endeavor of China’s auto industry to achieve success. Bosch in China will use part of the additional investment to pursue four major initiatives.”

Pang said: “The first investment is Bosch Automotive Diesel Systems Co. Ltd., where we are now building a structure of 300,000 square meters that will include manufacturing, a technical center, administration, marketing and sales functions. Here we will increase our workforce by some 600 employees to the already existing workforce of 1,400.” The second investment is Bosch Engineering Center (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., where Bosch will expand its research and development capabilities in China, in particular in the area of chassis systems development and application for the Chinese market.

The third investment is a new factory in Changzhou (Wujin), where Bosch is expanding the existing industrial hydraulic manufacturing facility by some 20,000 square meters and where Bosch will increase its present workforce by some 300 employees to the already existing workforce of 450.

The fourth project is the expansion of the mobile hydraulic production in Beijing, where Bosch is building a new factory of 30,000 square meters starting the production in China of axial piston units and gearboxes. At this production site, Bosch will increase its workforce by some 250 employees to the already existing workforce of 334.

As the world’s No.1 automotive supplier, Bosch has produced a wide range of systems, parts, components and devices to supply the continuous development of China’s modern automotive industry. At the same time, Bosch has sped up the localization of its technology in the Chinese market “Bosch plans to localize a whole range of products in 2005 in order to fully support the sustainable development of China’s automotive industry,” Peter Pang said.

Bosch Suzhou has started to manufacture the latest Electronic Stability Program - ESP® 8.0 system - domestically this year. 2005 is the tenth anniversary of Bosch’s invention of the ESP® system currently used worldwide. This innovative system has been an important contribution to the automotive industry. A study of the US Federal Agency “National Highway Traffic Safety Administration” (NHTSA) confirmed that passenger cars in the United States that were equipped with ESP® as a standard feature from 1997 through 2002 had on average 35 percent less driving accidents than a similar group of cars without the ESP® feature. Also announced at the press conference, Bosch Automotive Products (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. has begun producing the ABS 8.0 system this year, following its production startup of the ABS 5.3 system in 2004.

Pang said, “Bosch is increasing its R&D capabilities in China. On the 23rd of April, the first phase of the Bosch Suzhou Technology Center, with a total approved investment of US$60 million, will be finished and be officially opened.” The center includes ABS and ESP development and testing facilities. Through these facilities, Bosch will provide technical services and technology training to customers nationwide.

Another important strategy for Bosch China is the partnership with local suppliers. In 2004, the Bosch Group purchased goods worth nearly 600 Million USD in China. The target is to purchase goods worth at least 1.2 Billion USD by the year 2007. This will in effect represent a doubling of the purchasing volume in China.

At the end of his speech, Peter Pang mentioned that qualified talent is the key success factor for a business enterprise. It has been Bosch’s long time tradition to focus on people development. Acting on this belief, Bosch has extended its sponsorship to the Tongji University for another 5 years, starting this year. Mr. Pang also disclosed a plan that Bosch is currently promoting to recruit university graduates. Last year, Bosch in China carried out campus recruitment days in various universities. More than 14,000 applications show that Bosch is an attractive employer in China. From these applicants, we identified the most promising talent and will recruit around 500 “high potentials” this year.

The Bosch Group is the world’s largest automotive parts and components manufacturer. It is also one of the largest unlisted companies in the world. It was ranked No. 94 on the Fortune 500 list in 2004. Bosch primarily manufactures and sells automotive technology, industrial technology products, consumer goods and building technology. Since Bosch opened its first Shanghai office in 1909 to the present day, Bosch has made a total investment of US$ 600 million and established 26 enterprises in China. Bosch is a successful model for multinational corporations, especially those desiring to enter China’s burgeoning market. Currently, Bosch’s main operations in China are conducted by its automotive components business. In 2004, Bosch subsidiaries and joint ventures in China achieved total sales of 14 billion RMB. The automotive components segment represented over half of Bosch’s business in China.

About the Bosch Group

Headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, Robert Bosch GmbH has subsidiaries and affiliates in 259 locations in 55 countries. It is also one of the largest unlisted companies in the world. It was ranked No. 94 on the Fortune 500 list in 2004. In 2004, it posted total revenue of 40 billion euros. Employing approximately 242,000 people worldwide, of whom more than 13,000 are in China, the company is active in automotive technology, industrial technology, consumer goods and building technology. The eight product divisions of the Automotive Technology Sector include: Gasoline Systems, Diesel Systems, Chassis Systems, Energy and Body Systems, Car Multimedia, Automotive Electronics, ZF Steering Systems and Automotive Aftermarket.

Since it re-entered the China market in 1980’s, Bosch has set up 10 representative offices, 5 trading companies and 1 trading representative office, 11 wholly-owned enterprises and 9 joint ventures in the country, coordinated by the investment company - Bosch (China) Investment Ltd.. The group’s total investment in China has reached more than US$600 million. The key automotive companies in China are Bosch Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Bosch Automotive Products (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Wuxi Europe Asia Diesel Fuel Injection Co., Ltd., Nanjing Huade Spark Plug Co. Ltd., United Automotive Electronic Systems Co. Ltd.