BERLIN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Germany's automative supplier Bosch Wednesday announced the establishment of a new division for connected mobility services.
"Connectivity will fundamentally change how we get from A to B, and in the process it will help to solve today's traffic problems," Bosch's chief executive Volkmar Denner said at the Bosch ConnectedWorld 2018 IoT conference in Berlin. "We are using it to realize our vision of emissions-free, stress-free and accident-free mobility."
Boasting over 600 employees, the new division aims to extend the existing service portfolio by focusing on vehicle sharing, ridesharing and connectivity-based services for drivers.
Bosch said connectivity offers tremendous business potential. According to a research of PwC, there will be more than 470 million connected vehicles in the world by 2025, and the world market cap for mobility services and associated digital services will come to 140 billion euros (172 billion U.S. dollars) by 2022.
As part of its strategic shift, the new division of Bosch acquired U.S. ridesharing startup Splitting Fares Inc. (SPLT). Founded in 2015, the Uber rival SPLT developed a B2B platform that companies, universities, or municipal authorities can use to arrange ridesharing for their staff.
Besides, Bosch said at the conference that its digital services for electric vehicles also include its subsidiary COUP that rents e-scooters in Berlin and Paris since 2016, and its newly developed system of connected electrified power-train components called System!e.
Bosch also launched cooperation with German carmaker Daimler in developing self-driving cars and getting Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles on the roads by the next decade.
Bosch ConnectedWorld IoT conference started in 2014. This year, 70 exhibitors and some 4000 participants attend the two-day event.
