German automotive technologies company Robert Bosch GmbH said Friday it will end its solar energy business by early next year, blaming the decision on sustained losses amid massive overcapacity in the global solar energy market.
German automotive technologies company Robert Bosch GmbH said Friday it
will end its solar energy business by early next year, blaming the decision on
sustained losses amid massive overcapacity in the global solar energy market.
"Bosch's manufacture of ingots, wafers, cells, and modules will be ceased
at beginning of 2014," the company said in a written statement, adding
that it has failed to "achieve a competitive position" with the
business.
The company said it will seek to sell or shut-down its solar energy assets,
adding that plans to build production capacities in
Malaysia
will
be abandoned.
Bosch said it thoroughly examined its solar business over the past few months,
considering technological advances, cost-reduction potential, and strategic
alignment, while talking to potential partners.
"However, none of these possibilities resulted in a solution for the solar
energy division that would be economically viable over the long term,"
said Bosch's managing director Volkmar Denner.
Bosch's exit from solar energy come after a string of insolvencies amongst
European solar energy companies, including former German showcase solar cells
maker Q-Cells, which was sold to South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group last
year.
European makers of solar energy have accused low cost Asian competitors,
especially manufacturers from
China
, of
creating the trouble for their western peers, partly by flooding the market
with products at prices far below production costs.
While Chinese solar energy companies have refuted the allegations, European
manufacturers have pushed through anti-dumping levies on Chinese solar
components in the
U.S.
,
while the European Union is still examining similar moves.
Bosch, one of the world's top auto parts suppliers, began investing in the
renewable energy sector over the past years, especially solar, to lessen
dependence on the car market.
However, the company posted losses and write-downs of around 1 billion euros
($1.29 billion) in its solar operations in 2012, as price erosion and
overcapacity in the industry led to plant closures.
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