The company invests some 400 million euros in electromobility R&D each year.

“Electromobility is currently still a niche business, but after 2020 it could very well become a mass market,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Board of the German industrial giant Robert Bosch GmbH. Speaking at a panel discussion on “Research and Development Perspectives in Electromobility” in Berlin, Denner said, “I expect that by 2020, electric cars will have a range of at least 300 kilometers.”

Bosch supplies components for the upcoming Fiat 500e, as well as for plug-in hybrid drives made by Porsche and other automakers. The company invests some 400 million euros in electromobility R&D each year. It’s also involved in the Hubject project, which is aimed at establishing a comprehensive European EV charging infrastructure.

Denner noted that vehicles are growing ever more connected: “Electric vehicles will be connected vehicles, exchanging information with their environments. This connectivity improves safety as well as driver comfort.” He noted the lack of a general standard for data exchange – only when all vehicles use the same communication interfaces will it be possible to make services available for all drivers.

Denner emphasized the importance of education. “In order to achieve the kind of solutions that electromobility requires, we need well-educated employees,” he said. Bosch is active in partnerships between the Robert Bosch Center for Power Electronics and the universities of Reutlingen and Stuttgart.

Source: Robert Bosch GmbH