The Bosch Group and electric vehicle company NIO signed a strategic cooperation agreement focused on sensor technology, automated driving, electric motor controls, and intelligent transport systems. The signing ceremony took place in Berlin in the presence of German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. NIO began delivering its 7-seat high performance electric SUV, ES8, to its users in China in June. The vehicle contains key components from Bosch, such as driver assistance systems, control units, sensors and the iBooster electromechanical brake booster. The components will be further developed for NIO’s future models.
About Bosch in China
Bosch has been present in China since 1909 and is active in all of its business sectors today. In the Mobility Solutions sector, the supplier of technology and services works together with international and local manufacturers as well as startups in China. Today, Bosch employs more than 60,000 associates at
60 locations in China and achieved sales of 14.9 billion euros on the Chinese market in 2017 – a double-digit growth year on year. Bosch focuses on strong localization in China. In addition to local partnerships, the focus is on local manufacturing, research and development for the Chinese market. In total, Bosch has invested more than 4.8 billion euros in its Chinese locations over the past ten years – in 2017 alone, the sum was almost 840 million euros. In Wuxi, the company has begun construction of a new mobility solutions facility, which will be the world’s first manufacturing facility for 48-volt batteries for electric cars. In November 2018, the first Bosch iBooster manufacturing site in Asia Pacific will be officially inaugurated in Nanjing to fulfill the increasing demand for electrified and autonomous solutions in China. Also this year, the second phase of the automotive electronics plant in Wujin, Changzhou, will be completed. Additionally, it is planned to open a center for artificial intelligence in China in 2018.
About NIO
NIO’s mission is to shape a joyful lifestyle by offering smart, premium electric vehicles and providing the best user experience. NIO was founded in November 2014 as a global electric vehicle company, with world-class research and development, design and manufacturing centers in Shanghai, Beijing, San Jose, Munich, London and nine other locations. Headed by Kris Tomasson, Vice President of Design, NIO’s global brand and product design is being developed in Germany. In November 2017, NIO’s German branch, NIO GmbH, was given an innovative leader award by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Germany. The NIO Formula E Team secured the inaugural Drivers’ Championship title in 2015. In 2016, NIO unveiled one of the fastest electric cars in the world, the EP9. The EP9 set the lap record for an electric vehicle at the Nürburgring Nordschleife and three other world-renowned tracks. In 2017, NIO unveiled its vision car EVE. NIO officially began deliveries of the ES8, a seven-seat high performance electric SUV, on June 28, 2018.
