(Bloomberg) -- Robert Bosch GmbH is pushing deeper into areas outside of its mainstay automotive business where customers like Volkswagen AG and BMW AG confront weakening demand for electric vehicles.

The world’s biggest auto parts maker is investing in gene testing, hydrogen and heat pumps to ensure growth as the auto industry — which contributes more than half of Bosch’s revenue — sees consumers holding back on spending.

“For 2024, we aren’t expecting any economic tailwind,” Chief Financial Officer Markus Forschner said Thursday, citing slugging global economic growth with stagnating vehicle production and continued weakness in the mechanical engineering market. 

Read More: Europe Car Sales Drop in March as EV Weakness Persists

Carmakers and suppliers are undergoing a strategic reset with demand for electric vehicles developing more slowly than expected. Higher interest rates have started to weigh on consumer spending and automakers’ order backlogs from the protracted chip-supply crisis have faded away. 

Bosch said it would likely struggle to match last year’s operating margin of 5.3%, according to an earnings statement. Bosch and German peers Continental AG and ZF Friedrichshafen AG are pushing through job cuts and savings measures to help offset investments in new technologies. 

“We’re seeing that climate action is no longer the only issue at the top of the political agenda,” Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hartung said at the supplier’s annual press conference Thursday. “Some markets are developing too slowly - that’s the case for electromobility, and it’s no different for hydrogen and heat pumps.”

In the medical area, Bosch is investing in molecular diagnosis to test genetic traits as well as automated tests multi-drug-resistant bacteria. During the pandemic, the company offered rapid testing devices to detect coronavirus. 

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