Shanghai, 21 April 2005 — In a press conference themed “Technology Achieves the Beauty of Life” organized by Bosch on the eve of the Shanghai International Auto Show, Christoph Kirsch, General Manager of the China subsidiary of Bosch Diesel Systems – the pioneer and world’s largest provider of Automotives Diesel Systems – predicted that Diesel cars have a good chance to succeed on the Chinese market.

According to forecasts made by Bosch, overall diesel vehicle sales, i.e. Heavy and Light Commercial Vehicles and Passenger Cars, will increase by an annual average of 12% until the year 2007, although the portion of Diesel Passenger Cars is still predicted to be relatively low. By this time, vehicle production is predicted to reach the 1.9 million mark. This will fulfill China’s needs for transportation of people, goods and machinery in order to keep the momentum of strong economical growth. At the same time, China is set to cope with strains on environmental and energy resources. To help China in addressing these issues, Bosch has made it its goal to strengthen and develop the production and research of modern diesel systems in China.

In August 2004, Bosch Automotive Diesel Systems Co., Ltd. has been founded. Bosch Automotive Diesel Systems is a Joint Stock Co., Ltd with Wuxi Weifu group as the partner. The overall investment into this venture over the next 3 years will be about 280 Mio EUR. Starting already this year, Bosch Diesel Systems will localize production in China of components for Common Rail Systems, the advanced technology for modern Diesel Vehicles.

Bosch is presently building an impressive 300,000 square meter site that will include production, engineering/application, research and development, and administration facilities, and will be opened by the end of November 2005. A state-of-the-art Technical Center with about 300 engineers will be part of this modern site. The existing workforce of 1,400 will be increased to 2,000 by the end of this year.

The low consumption and high performance properties of modern diesel engines are commonly recognized. Diesel vehicles equipped with Bosch’s high-pressure diesel injection Systems are around 30% more fuel efficient and due to their high torque provide a lot of driving pleasure. This, together with 25% reduction of CO2 emissions of diesel engines compared to cars with gasoline engines has made diesel vehicles increasingly popular around the world. Vehicles equipped with Bosch’s high-pressure diesel injection systems are the exact counterproof for the image of a smoking diesel. They set a new standard in terms of cleanliness, economy, high-efficiency, noise reduction and driving fun.

In Western Europe, presently about 50 percent of newly registered vehicles are equipped with a diesel engine. Also during the recently concluded Geneva Motor Show, many high-class vehicles sported diesel engines.

Mr. Kirsch believes that the Chinese market’s demand for economically viable diesel solutions could increase rapidly as soon as the Chinese car users learn about the advantages of diesel cars. At the same time, Christoph Kirsch points out that diesel vehicles still face some obstacles in China – such as the diesel’s image and aspects such as missing sulphur-free fuel. However, he is confident that these obstacles will soon be overcome, and therefore, he projects growth in China’s diesel automobile market to be quite significant in the near future.

Christoph Kirsch pointed out that Bosch’s Chinese business partners, are making big efforts to increase the number of passenger cars equipped with diesel engine in China. In 2004 the Audi A6 2.5 TDI — a car that only consumes a mere 5.2 liters of petrol per 100 km when run at a constant speed of 90 km/h — was introduced in the Chinese market. Previously Jetta and Bora diesel vehicles were also well received by the market. Owners of diesel-versions of the Jetta and Bora all responded positively to the vehicles’ low consumption and power. A taxi fleet of 280 Bora TDI in Hangzhou, equipped with Bosch Unit Injector Systems shows that the life time cost of a diesel passenger car, its robustness and cleanliness are decisive arguments when it comes to purchasing such a car. Such good examples will contribute to increasing the demand for cars equipped with diesel engines.

Christoph Kirsch also pointed out that a widespread introduction of diesel vehicles in China will lead to a strong consumer demand for high quality diesel fuels will push the market to introduce diesel fuel with the same standard as Europe’s.

The Bosch Group is the world’s largest supplier of automotive technology. Bosch Diesel Systems, the biggest division of the Bosch Group in terms of sales, has more than 52,000 associates worldwide. In 2004, Bosch sold more than 7 million High-Pressure Diesel Injection Systems, i.e. Common Rail Systems, Unit Injector systems as well as Unit Pump systems.
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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.