From its modest beginnings with less than 10 associates in 2008, Bosch Powertrain Solutions plant has grown to a workforce of 1,800 associates. With production of over 50 million CVT pushbelts exported to automotive original equipment manufacturers located in the Asia-Pacific and North American regions, the plant has been an important economy contributor to Vietnam. The plant is currently operating 22 production lines to produce an annual average of five million pushbelts and achieved the highest production ever in March 2021, with 540,000 CVT push belts produced.

“Bosch already invested in 2007 into hi-tech manufacturing in our Powertrain Solutions plant in Vietnam and is today one of the largest European employers. We will continue our investments in the country’s growth by nurturing the workforce, especially in the digital space and we will provide solutions, invented for life, for the local market,” said managing director of Bosch Vietnam, Mr. Dominik Meichle.

Bosch has invested more than 363 million euros (US$396 million) in the plant over the past 15 years, making it one of the largest European investors in the country. These investments are aimed at expanding the production capacity and turning the plant into a smart factory implemented with Industry 4.0 solutions.

As part of the company’s “local-for-local” strategy, the Bosch Plant has established partnerships with local universities to provide educational opportunities and support STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) initiatives. Recently, the plant has sponsored two state-of-the-art automotive laboratories at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education (HCMUTE) and the Ho Chi Minh University of Technology - Vietnam National University (HCMUT) to provide hands-on training and research programs for young students interested in the manufacturing industry. Moreover, the plant also works closely with the Bosch Technical Industrial Apprenticeship training center (Bosch TGA) in Dong Nai to equip the plant’s future workforce. As of December 2022, Bosch has recruited 134 graduates from the program, all starting as technicians, and some have progressed to higher positions such as engineers.

Bosch Powertrain Solutions Plant marks 15 years of delivering excellence in automotive manufacturing

Since 2020, the Bosch Group with its more than 400 locations worldwide has been carbon neutral. In Vietnam, the plant also invests in climate action, air-quality measures and aims to reduce upstream and downstream emissions by 15 percent by 2030. With 900,000 euros (US$1 million) of investment, the plant has operated a wastewater recycling system with treated wastewater constituting 65 percent of the plant’s total water consumption in 2020.

In line with its motto “Invented for life”, Bosch’s investment in the Vietnamese workforce, education, and climate action measures, along with its production capacity, makes it an essential player in the country’s economy.

Bosch established its first representative office in Ho Chi Minh City. Since 2007, Bosch has expanded its footprint in Vietnam where it has branch offices in Hanoi and Da Nang, as well as a Powertrain Solutions plant in Dong Nai province to manufacture pushbelts for continuously variable transmissions (CVT) in automobiles. In addition, Bosch operates a software and engineering R&D center as well as an automotive R&D center for mobility solutions in Ho Chi Minh City. The Bosch software and engineering R&D center extended its footprint to Hanoi in June 2022, currently employs over 3,700 software engineers and plans to reach 6,000 experts in 2025. As of March 2023, Bosch employed approximately 6,000 associates in Vietnam. Bosch has diversified businesses in Vietnam. Today, all four Bosch business sectors, namely Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology have operations in the country.