The Bosch Group at a Glance
An industrial enterprise with a strong worldwide presence 

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 275,000 associates generated sales of 38.2 billion euros in fiscal 2009. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 300 subsidiaries and regional companies in over 60 countries. If its sales and service partners are included, then Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Each year, Bosch spends more than 3.5 billion euros, or eight percent of its sales revenue, for research and development, and applies for over 3,800 patents worldwide. With all its products and services, Bosch enhances the quality of life by providing solutions which are both innovative and beneficial.

The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering." The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.

Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH carries on the social commitment and endeavors of the company founder in contemporary form. The foundation is divided into six areas to support and operate its aid program. In order to pursue the foundation's objectives, it promotes external projects and initiates its own projects for developing and running programs.
The areas supported by the foundation include science, health and humanitarian aid, international understanding, and youth, education, society, and culture. The Stiftung's international activities are focused on the U.S., Europe, Turkey, the CIS states, China, India, and Japan.

Some 100 employees manage an average of about 800 internal and external projects a year. Approximately €60.1 million was spent on program work in 2008. In total the Robert Bosch Stiftung has provided grants worth €900 million since its founding.

The business unit Automotive Aftermarket

Automotive Aftermarket   
The headquarter of Bosch Automotive Aftermarket and its main distribution centre is located in Karlsruhe. Within the UBK AA manages supply, logistics and sales for automotive spare
parts and Bosch backfitting products. In addition its services include customer service for automotive products and systems.

Distribution Centre
One of the tasks of the Distribution Centre is to supply Bosch customers (including car manufacturers, wholesales and workshops) with a great range of spare parts, which are being shipped from Karlsruhe to over 140 countries. The division also manages 24 other storage locations allocated around the world. The Global Distribution Centre in Karlsruhe ensures,
missing parts arrive at any place all over Europe within 24 and around the world within 96 hours.

Diagnostics   
In terms of Diagnostics AA offers test equipment, diagnostic software, customer services, cross-brand knowledge and trainings for automotive workshops. This business unit is situated in
Plochingen (close to Stuttgart). Over 60000 participants annually attend trainings in the areas of automotive electrical systems and electronics, fuel injection and brakes, at one of the 43
Training Centres all around the world.

Bosch Workshop-concepts
Furthermore AA is responsible for the workshop concept “Bosch Service”, the world’s largest independent workshop chain. It contains 15000 Bosch Service workshops (about 1000 in Germany). The acquisition of AutoCrew GmbH on April 1, 2009 and therefore of the brands “AutoCrew” and “AutoCrew Truck+Trailer” added another workshop concept to AA’s responsibilities, which is also steered in Karlsruhe. At the moment this workshop chain counts 600 AutoCrew partners around Europe, about 420 of them in Germany.

Automotive Tradition   
The "Bosch Automotive Tradition" business unit in Karlsruhe, launched in 2005, provides information and other services for all matters relating to both new and old vehicles, in addition to providing the associated spare parts. Sought-after parts from the stocks of wholesalers, repair businesses and workshops are made available to an extensive target group on the newly established Internet platform http://stores.ebay.de/Bosch-Klassik-Teilevermittlung.