Bosch opens Braga technology centre, Portuguese and German leaders in attendance

Bosch has opened a new technology centre in Braga, Portugal, with the help of the country's Prime Minister Antonio Costa and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The centre, close to the manufacturer's Portuguese headquarters, will house 200 highly-qualified engineers by the end of this year working on developing sensors and software functions for automated driving.

Costa and Merkel cut the ribbon at the facility this week as part of the Chancellor's planned visit. For Bosch, Portugal is a key hub with it having spent more than €200mn on strengthening its activities there in the field of connected and automated mobility. In 2018, investments are expected to match the high levels of previous years.

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"Our new technology centre in Braga is another indicator of the great potential we see in Portugal," said Dirk Hoheisel, board member at Bosch, which currently employs more than 3,000 associates at its Braga location – around 1,000 more than just five years ago.

"It also reflects our confidence in the expertise of Portuguese engineers. I am particularly pleased that our associates here will be able to make an even greater contribution to one of the key projects of future importance – the development of automated driving."

In 2017, Bosch generated sales of around €240mn in the Portuguese market. Including deliveries to other Bosch companies, the total sales figure was €1.5bn.