The story of Bosch: Part one

You know Bosch. You might well have one of its washing machines or dishwashers in your house. If your garage or shed is anything like mine, it may well contain far too many of its power tools. But I can absolutely guarantee – no matter what you drive – that some of its products keep your car going.

In ‘Who made your car?’, we talked about the importance of the so-called ‘Tier 1’ suppliers – companies like Bosch, Magna International, Valeo, Continental and Denso – to their customers, the OEMs whose products we, in turn, buy. With up to 70 per cent of the cost of the car being bought from these companies – as opposed to actually made by the car companies themselves – they are arguably as or more important to our shared passion/hobby/obsession/job (delete as applicable) than the companies whose names our cars wear on their hoods and tailgates.

And Bosch – colloquially and somewhat disrespectfully known to some as ‘Bobby Bosch’ – is the OG supplier. Last year, its automotive divisions reported an annual turnover of about €45bn – making it the biggest player in the industry.