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Bosch said last year's pre-tax profit rose to 5.5 billion euros ($6.2 billion) from 4.9 billion euros in 2017. Revenue rose from 78.1 billion euros to 78.5 billion euros, the supplier said on Thursday. Sales in Bosch mobile solutions services increased 3.5% to 47.6 billion euros, with strong growth in sales of exhaust system handling, sensors and electrified products. The department's profit margin is 7.1%.

Bosch warned that sales would stagnate in 2019 because of the global economic slowdown, continuing trade disputes and the impact of Brexit. The German supplier expects global car production to fall 3 per cent this year to 95 million, the first two-year decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Bosch's profit margin will be about 6 per cent this year, compared with 7 per cent in 2018, as Bosch has increased capital spending and research investment, according to Mr Dana, Bosch's chief executive. However, he points out that there is no direct link between car production and sales by suppliers such as Bosch. "Bosch tends to grow faster than production because there is more and more car technology-a large part of it comes from Bosch-so our share of every car is growing," he says. "

Regional performance data

Carmakers and suppliers are grappling with falling demand for cars, especially in China, the world's largest car market. Continental said on Thursday that it did not expect the market to improve until the second half of this year. The company reported a 22% drop in first-quarter net profit.

In Europe, Bosch's largest market, sales rose 3.3 per cent to 41.4 billion euros, but the supplier worried that German production could fall. North American sales rose 2.7% to $12.3 billion, although Bosch expects production to fall slightly.

In the Asia-Pacific-Africa region, including China, Bosch's largest single market, sales grew by only 0.7 per cent as Chinese car production and sales continued to decline. In 2018, Chinese sales to carmakers rose 1 per cent to 10.5 billion euros. The Chinese market accounts for 22% of Bosch's mobile division sales.

"the market got off to a very bad start in the first quarter," said Stefan Hartung, chairman of Bosch Mobile Solutions Services. "there will be some catch-up in the third and fourth quarters, but we expect growth to be below zero this year." Hadong said he is optimistic that the Chinese market will eventually pick up again, with car ownership only 25% of Germany's.

The supplier is counting on electrification for future growth in China; sales of so-called new energy car parts doubled from 2017 to 2018, and Bosch will open an electric axle factory in Taicang this year. Last year, Bosch opened a plant in Wuxi to produce 48-volt batteries, which is at the heart of the mild hybrid system that carmakers are counting on to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines. Slowing economic growth in India will also be a factor in the region, Bosch said.

Mr Dana, chief executive, said Bosch planned to achieve full carbon neutrality by 2020, making it the first large industrial company to take this step. He said rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions, droughts and floods forced companies to take immediate action to prevent the planet from overheating and endanger global stability.

"Climate change is not science fiction. It's true, "Dana said." "Global warming will not miraculously solve itself. This is just wishful thinking. " He said Bosch's push for carbon neutrality was not to repair the image of carmakers damaged by emissions cheating on Volkswagen diesel vehicles.

Bosch has agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in settlement and fines related to emissions cases involving Volkswagen Group and Fiat Chrysler cars.

Bosch says the company currently emits about 3.3 million tons of carbon dioxide a year. Manufacturing accounts for about 1/3 of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Energy Agency (International Energy Agency).

The Stuttgart-based company aims to achieve its goal by improving energy efficiency, expanding the share of renewable energy in its energy supply to 40 per cent, buying more green energy and offsetting the inevitable carbon dioxide emissions. Bosch said it would add a total of 2 billion euros to costs by 2030 by buying green power, participating in carbon offset projects and getting energy from renewable energy. The company will also invest 1 billion euros to improve the energy efficiency of the plant.

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