Green light for turbocharger venture

European anti-trust authorities have approved the formation of Bosch Mahle Turbo Systems, an equal joint venture between

and

.

The company, which will start business operations on June 2, will engage in the development, production, and sale of exhaust gas turbochargers.

Around 100 employees drawn from each parent company will work at Bosch Mahle’s head office in Stuttgart, where development, administration, and sales activities will take place.

Series production of exhaust gas turbochargers for petrol and diesel engines will begin in 2011 at existing locations in St Michael ob Bleiburg, Austria, plus Blaichach and Immenstadt in Germany.

Dr Martin Knopf and Dr. Andreas Prang have been appointed managing directors of the new company.

‘We are convinced that Bosch Mahle Turbo Systems will position itself as a preferred partner of international automobile manufacturers for the development and production of exhaust gas turbochargers,’ said Dr Prang. ‘Concrete interest has already been shown during numerous discussions with customers.’

‘Now that exhaust gas turbochargers have been successfully used primarily in diesel engines, they will be used increasingly in gasoline engines in the future, in combination with direct gasoline injection for downsizing concepts,’ added Dr Knopf. ‘This will allow smaller engines to achieve better efficiency with comparable power output.’