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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