In the North America region, by contrast, the Bosch Home Comfort Group was able to grow its sales by a nominal six percent compared to the previous year. Increasing by 11 percent – and thus above the market average – US sales of air conditioners made an important contribution to this growth. Sales in Africa also picked up by nine percent, essentially in the water heater segment. The industrial boiler segment defied the general negative market trend, clearly growing its international sales by just under 11 percent compared to the previous year. At 256 million euros, the Bosch Home Comfort Group maintained its spending on research and development at the high level of the previous year in 2024. The company employed 13,800 associates as of December 31, 2024.
Emerging well from turbulent times thanks to stronger market position
Demand for heating technology in Europe declined noticeably in 2024, namely by 34 percent for heat pumps and by 14 percent for boilers. The Bosch Home Comfort Group’s position in the heat pump market nevertheless improved noticeably in Germany and Europe. “Our customers are particularly open to heat pump technology, and we support them with our comprehensive range of training courses,” said Jan Brockmann, CEO of the Bosch Home Comfort Group. The Bosch Home Comfort Group also strengthened its position in air conditioners in Europe and North America. ”Despite the current global economic climate and the volatile subsidy situation, this broad positioning makes us optimistic about the future. We will emerge stronger from the weak market phase, also thanks to the outstanding performance of our associates. At an international level, we are cautiously optimistic about the year 2025 as a whole. The European market for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is unlikely to start recovering slowly before 2026,” Brockmann added.
Planned acquisition a consistent strategic milestone
Announced in July 2024, the planned 8 billion US dollar acquisition of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning business of Johnson Controls and Hitachi is the largest acquisition in the history of Bosch and an important step on the way towards becoming a global player for the home of the future. The transaction comprises 16 production facilities and 12 development sites employing some 12,000 associates in over 30 countries worldwide. The product portfolio covers the full range of heating, ventilation and air conditioning solutions for residential and small commercial buildings and includes well-known brands such as York or Coleman in the USA and Hitachi in Asia and Europe, for which Bosch will be granted a long-term license. “We act from a position of strength and are establishing a global presence with the planned acquisition. This enables us to offer efficient and innovative heating, ventilation and air conditioning solutions worldwide and push forward the full spectrum of electrification,” Brockmann explained.
With the planned acquisition, the Bosch Home Comfort Group wants to expand its presence in growth markets such as the USA and Asia and assume a leading market position in the promising heating, ventilation and air conditioning market. “We are also gaining strength in Western and Southern Europe, complementing our existing leading position in North and Central Europe. We will almost double our sales in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning market to about nine million euros and thus accelerate our growth. The preparations for the closing, which is scheduled for mid-2025, are in full swing and entirely on track. We look forward to working with our future colleagues and to the new opportunities that will arise for all of us,” said Brockmann.
High investments in the future viability of the sites
Bosch expects the global market for heating, ventilation and air conditioning solutions relevant to the company to grow by around 40 percent by 2030. This growth will be driven by technological progress, the fight against climate change and new regulations. “Heat pumps and hybrid heat pump systems remain our key to achieving the climate goals in the building sector. That´s why we will stick to our plans to invest over one billion euros in our European development and production network for heat pumps by 2030,” said Brockmann.
The future viability of the sites is of decisive importance here. For example, at the Eibelshausen site in Central Hesse, the center of excellence for heat pump indoor units and storage tanks, the portfolio and product design as well as processes and infrastructure are to be optimized with a focus on increased competitiveness. In Aveiro, Portugal, the Bosch Home Comfort Group is expanding its production space for propane-based heat pumps as well as the resources for research and development. The Wernau site near Stuttgart places the investment focus on flexibility and scalability with two new assembly lines with low cycle times and a high degree of automation as well as the fully automated handling of load carriers.
Strengthening the technologies of the future: heat pumps and air conditioning
The motto of this year’s exhibit of the Bosch Home Comfort Group at the ISH trade fair in Frankfurt is “Local heroes for global change” – a dedicated commitment to combining global innovations with the inestimable value of local expertise. The Bosch Home Comfort Group will make the results of its extensive research and development activities visible at the ISH fair, where Bosch and Buderus, the international brands of the Bosch Home Comfort Group, will present numerous innovations. The hybrid heat pump systems, which will be presented for the very first time, can be operated as stand-alone gas or oil condensing boilers or in combination with a heat pump outdoor unit. Conversion to all-electric operation is also possible. This provides homeowners with a future-proof heating system that can be flexibly adapted to new conditions and requirements at any time. The new innovative brine-to-water heat pumps for single and two-family homes provide flow temperatures of up to 80 degrees Celsius and utilize the natural refrigerant propane (R290). A new propane-based air conditioner that can be integrated into a wide range of smart home systems thanks to compatibility with Matter – the cross-manufacturer connection standard for smart home devices with the aim of simplification and standardization – will also be on display at the trade fair. For apartment buildings and commercial facilities, a new condensing boiler with a dual-fuel burner can be operated with 100 percent hydrogen if required. For heat networks and industrial applications, a new electric boiler generates up to 5.5 megawatts of heat fully electrically, making it suitable for the utilization of surplus green electricity, for instance.
Press photos and info charts from the Bosch Media Service at:
https://www.bosch-presse.de/pressportal/de/en/bosch-home-comfort-group-at-the-ish-2025-274496.html
