Bosch's China sales robust

SHANGHAI: Germany's Bosch Group, a leading automobile components maker, said yesterday that sales growth in China last year was robust despite falling global sales due to the economic downturn.

Bosch's China sales touched 22.8 billion yuan ($3.34 billion) in 2008, a rise of 25 percent over the previous year, said Peter Pang, president, Bosch China Investment Ltd, at a press conference during the ongoing 2009 Shanghai auto show.

The global economic slowdown, coupled with a sharp appreciation of the euro, dragged down Bosch's global sales to roughly $58.2 billion in 2008, a drop of 2.8 percent over the previous year.