During the past two years, prices for solar energy panels have dropped by more than two-thirds due a glut of Chinese manufacturing capacity.
Bosch said today that it would end its solar business operations, including the making of ingots, wafers, cells, and modules at the beginning of 2014. More than 3,000 employees are affected. The German conglomerate, which is the biggest auto parts supplier in the word, said that individual business units would be sold, if possible. All product development and marketing activities will also be ended. Bosch plans to sell its 90% ownership of Aleo Solar, as well as a plant in France. Bosch Solar CISTech in Brandenburg will continue as a development center for thin-film technology.
Over the past years, Bosch Solar Energy has tried unsuccessfully to become profitable. The company attributes the failure to global overcapacity, with virtually the entire industry sustaining heavy losses. During 2012, losses at the Solar Energy division were €1 billion.
“Despite extensive measures to reduce manufacturing cost over the past year, we were unable to offset the drop in prices, which was as much as 40%,” said Stefan Hartung, chairman of Bosch Solar Energy.
During the past two years price for solar energy panels have dropped by more than two-thirds due a glut of Chinese manufacturing capacity. In addition, an industry consolidation that began with the collapse of U.S. taxpayer subsidized Solyndra two years ago is now well under way.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
