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What are the top R&D companies in Germany?

By international standards, German business is right at the forefront of research and development. One of the leading companies worldwide in terms of R&D investment is the carmaker Volkswagen. It spent approx. 18.9 billion euros on R&D in 2022 alone. In the same rankings, Mercedes-Benz, Robert Bosch and BMW are all among the top 30 corporations worldwide.

Research for high technology

In terms of R&D intensity – that is to say the proportion of turnover spent on internal R&D – high-value technology companies increased their R&D expenditure by 8.6 per cent, while cutting-edge technology companies raised theirs by 8.2 per cent. High-tech companies also increased their R&D personnel by more than 8 per cent.

World-class innovators

When it comes to international patent applications (in line with the Patent Cooperation Treaty, PCT), German companies are among the top business PCT applicants: The world’s leading patent applicants include the automotive component supplier and electronics manufacturer Bosch, the engineering company Siemens, the chemical giant BASF, the carmaker BMW and the family-owned Schaeffler.

Facts and figures

The carmaker Volkswagen is the German company that invests most in R&D.

The top 50 PCT applicants list is composed of companies from only nine countries and includes 5 companies from Germany.