FRANKFURT (Reuters) -German automotive supplier Robert Bosch said on Thursday it would not be able to estimate the impact of tariffs on its business until late in the year, and predicted 2025 sales to grow by a currency-adjusted 1% to 3%.
Volatility in global trade makes the forecast fraught with uncertainty, the company said, also citing a difficult business environment in its main markets but also possible tailwinds from state infrastructure investment programmes.”The consequences of additional tariffs and possible economic effects from European and German infrastructure investments also make an assessment more difficult,” it added.
The U.S. tariffs’ impact, which cannot be calculated until late in the year, may lead to greater regional differentiation in company’s product development, CEO Stefan Hartung said during conference call.
Bosch is in talks with the U.S. government, but “it’s not the case that companies can make small, extra agreements for tariffs”, the chief executive said.
In the first quarter of 2025, Bosch sales rose 4% compared with the same period last year.
In contrast, German peer Schaeffler on Wednesday posted a first-quarter revenue decline of 2.9%, citing general softness in the industry.
Bosch confirmed its operating margin target of 7% for 2026, though calling it “extremely challenging”.
Bosch added that it expects the number of jobs at the company to decline further, particularly in Germany and Europe.
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Christina Amann; Writing by Amir OrusovEditing by Ludwig Burger and David Evans)
