Bosch Home Comfort India is targeting a strong double-digit share of the country’s air-conditioner market within two years as it expands through a dual-brand strategy built around Hitachi and Bosch, Managing Director Sanjay Sudhakaran said in an interview with PTI.
The company, part of German engineering major Bosch GmbH, also aims to become one of India’s top five cooling and comfort brands in the medium term. It plans to launch Bosch-branded air conditioners in India next year, positioning them in the performance-premium and super-premium segments while retaining Hitachi as its mainstream and mass-premium brand.
Bosch Home Comfort acquired Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning’s global residential and light-commercial air-conditioning business in August 2025. Following the acquisition, it took over Hitachi’s air-conditioning operations in India and plans to revamp the portfolio to strengthen its presence across multiple consumer segments.
“We will position Bosch as a super-premium category and Hitachi as a mainstream category,” Sudhakaran said. The company expects the two brands to have distinct product portfolios, features and value propositions. Bosch will draw on its German engineering and premium positioning, while Hitachi will continue to use its legacy in air conditioning and Japanese engineering.
Bosch-branded air conditioners are expected to compete with premium brands such as O General and Mitsubishi Electric. The products are likely to be priced at around ₹45,000 to ₹50,000 and above, according to the report. The company said India offered significant room for growth because of low room air-conditioner penetration, rising disposable incomes and economic expansion.
Bosch Home Comfort plans to invest €80 million, or around ₹900 crore, over the next few years to expand manufacturing capacity, increase localisation and strengthen engineering and testing capabilities in India. The investment will also support its expansion into light-commercial air conditioning, including variable refrigerant flow systems under the Hitachi brand.
The company is manufacturing its latest Hitachi VRF products at its facility in Kadi, Gujarat. It has also expanded its global research and development centre in Ahmedabad to focus on light-commercial air-conditioning technologies. The Kadi plant currently has annual manufacturing capacity of more than 10 lakh air-conditioning units.
The company may explore a new manufacturing facility in southern India, although Sudhakaran did not confirm whether such a project was under consideration. Bosch Home Comfort said domestic production and backward integration would remain central to its strategy. Around 75 per cent of its procurement is currently sourced domestically, while imports account for approximately 25 per cent.
The Kadi facility produces heat exchangers, indoor-unit moulds, condensing units, sheet-metal components, tubing and coils, and also carries out painting operations. The company also has access to compressors through a joint venture with a major global compressor manufacturer operating a plant in Ahmedabad.
For distribution, Bosch Home Comfort India will use Hitachi’s existing retail and distribution network while exploring access to Bosch and BSH-branded home-appliance stores. Large-format retailers, regional retailers and online platforms will remain key channels. The company expects synergies across sales, service, manufacturing, research and development, product development, supply chains and human resources as it builds the two-brand portfolio.
