German companies are investing more money in innovations than ever before. But these developments are rarely reflected in sales. This apparently also has something to do with the German mentality.

Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Munich, Vienna. Head of Research Udo Gómez is often accused of being insufficiently innovative. Through groundbreaking developments such as fuel injection technology for combustion engines in 1951, the anti-lock braking system ABS (1978), and the electronic stability program ESP (1995), the Swabian company has become the world’s largest automotive supplier.

Critics complain that too few new products have been coming to market in years. Despite declining sales, Bosch increased its research and development (R&D) spending to 7.8 billion euros in 2024. The company is investing in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), software, quantum technology, and hydrogen.

It’s important for Bosch to address a wide range of new technologies, but also the transformation of existing businesses, explains Gómez. “This creates a wealth of potential innovations.” It’s difficult to predict which technology will prevail. No one knew that ESP would be a blockbuster. “That’s why perseverance is important.”

The search for future business is not only arduous at Bosch: Companies in Germany spent more than 203 billion euros on innovations in 2023 – almost 80 percent more than in 2006, according to current figures from the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW).

This has hardly paid off: In 2023, the German economy generated just over 12 percent of its revenue from product innovations, compared to 18 percent in 2006. Innovations are defined as new or significantly improved products that have come onto the market in the past three years.

205 billion euros: This is what German companies spend their research funds on

How can this be? In which research and development areas do German companies invest? And are these possibly the wrong fields?