The Bosch Group, the worldwide leading supplier of automotive equipment and provider of innovative technology and services on a global scale, has decided to move its Japan headquarters to Yokohama. With a worldwide headquarters located in Germany, Bosch employed approximately 401,000 workers at the end of 2021.
Currently headquartered in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Bosch Corporation is proceeding with the development of a new research and development facility, along with an adjacent public center, tentatively named the “Tsuzuki Ward Cultural Center,” in the Tsuzuki ward of Yokohama, with the aim of completing construction in September 2024. This investment of around 39 billion Japanese yen is the largest since Bosch’s entry into the Japanese market over a century years ago, and this project represents the first public-private partnership for Bosch Corporation worldwide.
Concept images of new R&D center and adjacent cultural center
Photos © Bosch Corporation
Additionally, Bosch has decided to move its main Japanese office functions from Tokyo to Yokohama, as this new R&D facility will become the main location of Bosch’s activity in Japan, and will act as the company’s new Japanese headquarters. Approximately 2,000 associates are expected to be employed in the facility, with space available for accommodating future personnel increases.
In August 2019, the City of Yokohama pledged its support to the development of Bosch’s new R&D facilities under the city’s Corporate Location Promotion Ordinance. Yokohama’s stated aim is to create a sustainable, active center in Yokohama City and Tsuzuki Ward through this unprecedented collaborative project with a large-scale foreign-affiliated company.
In a comment responding to the announcement of Bosch’s planned center and move to Yokohama, Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka stated “It is a great honor and we would like to express our sincere gratitude to President and CEO Klaus Meder and all other concerned parties.” The Mayor noted that Bosch has been operating in Japan for over one hundred years, and opened a R&D in facility in the same ward of Yokohama in 1990, which has contributed to Yokohama’s economy for decades. Mayor Yamanaka ended his comments by saying, “Together with Bosch Corporation, a generator of cutting-edge technology and ideas, we will seek to create a warm, inviting place here in Yokohama where many people can gather and come up with new innovations that will lead to sustainable growth in Japan and the world.”
Bosch’s current nearby R&D facility in Tsuzuki Ward will continue to operate, focusing on powertrain related research and development, and will serve as Bosch’s global headquarters for the two-wheeler and powersports business.
Klaus Meder, Bosch Corporation’s president and representative director, commented, “The establishment of the new R&D center shows Bosch’s commitment to further strengthen its presence in Japan and illustrates the importance the company attaches to the Japanese market and its customers.”
For more information:
Bosch’s Press Release: https://www.bosch.co.jp/press/rbjp-2202-03/?lang=en
Information on the planned cultural center from Yokohama City (Japanese Only): https://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/kanko-bunka/bunka/bunkashisetsu/tsuzukikubun.html
More information about the Automotive and “Mobility” industry in Yokohama, including major players https://businessyokohama.com/major-industries/mobility/
