Bosch sees car production falling 5% in 2019, report says

FRANKFURT -- Robert Bosch revised its forecast for global automotive production on Saturday, expecting a 5 percent decline  this year, bigger than an earlier estimate of a 3 percent decline, the company's chief financial officer told a German newspaper.

As a result Bosch won't be able to achieve an earnings before interest and taxes margin of 7 percent as it did last year, Stefan Asenkerschbaumer told the Boersen-Zeitung.

The company had forecast a rise in revenue and an EBIT margin of 6 percent to 7 percent for this year.

"We will not be able to repeat the high margin from last year given the development in revenues," Asenkerschbaumer said, adding that he believed automotive production would stagnate over the next three years.

By 2025, Bosch expects to generate 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in revenue from electric cars because of steady growth in the segment, particularly in China, he said.

Bosch has already supplied components for more than 1 million electric vehicles and expects revenues to grow since it has developed powertrains for 50 vehicle platforms for various manufacturers, the executive told the newspaper.