Bosch, the world’s top automotive supplier, said on Tuesday that it will spin off its semiconductor division in January 2028. The chip activities currently sit inside the Mobility Electronics division.
The German company wants a more focused chip business that can grow faster and serve outside customers. Bosch announced the plan on November 3.
Bosch aims to lift sales of its chips, the small components used in cars and e-bikes, to EUR 5 billion (USD 5.59 billion) by 2030. The company said it will open its manufacturing capacity to external partners and expand its foundry business in a planned way.
Electronics Weekly says Bosch will run the unit as a foundry business and as an in-house supply source. It also plans to move into more complex integrated circuits. The structure marks a clear shift from keeping chips inside the Mobility Electronics division.
Bosch chips have mostly served automotive systems. The company said the spin-off is strongly driven by fast-rising demand in robotics, automation and AI data centers.
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Bosch relies on a network of around 40 semiconductor sites worldwide for research, development and manufacturing. It plans to expand its test center in Penang, Malaysia, by the middle of the 2030s. Electronics Weekly puts the expansion at EUR 350 million.
Bosch has built chips for a long time. The company says it has developed and made semiconductors for over 60 years. Its Dresden wafer fab opened in June 2021 at EUR 1 billion, the largest single investment in Bosch history.
In 2022, Bosch said it would invest EUR 3 billion in chips through 2026. At that time, Bosch said it was the only automotive supplier making silicon carbide power chips, which matter for electric vehicles.