Dr. Stefan Hartung, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH and chairman of the Mobility Solutions business sector, commented on the acquisition: "For Bosch, the complete acquisition of EM-motive is the next logical step on the road to market leadership in electromobility. This acquisition now offers Bosch the opportunity to establish an even broader market presence." Bosch had already secured an option to acquire the shares when the joint venture was founded. The full takeover was therefore already a possibility in the joint venture agreement. For EM-motive's current total of around 340 employees in Stuttgart and Hildesheim, the change in their company's shareholder structure has no direct impact.

EM-motive was founded in 2011 as a joint venture between Bosch and Daimler. © Bosch

"The company's electric motors can already be found in vehicles from Daimler, Porsche, Fiat, Volvo, Peugeot and StreetScooter, for example. With this realignment, Bosch is now aiming in particular to acquire additional customers in the rapidly growing global market," explains Dr. Mathias Pillin, member of the Powertrain Solutions Board of Management with responsibility for the electric vehicles market segment. The existing company, EM-motive GmbH, will be transferred to Robert Bosch GmbH. The acquisition of the shares is subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price or any further details of the acquisition.

The EM-motive joint venture was founded to make the entry into electric motor production economically viable for both partners: With initially small quantities, the companies shared the high investments for the development and production of electric motors. This enabled Bosch and Daimler to enter electric motor production at an early stage.

The motor is a key component in the electric drive: the more efficiently it works, the less energy it consumes - this increases the range and significantly reduces costs. The electromobility business is already growing rapidly and will become a mass market by the beginning of the next decade at the latest.