Bosch generated sales of 91.6 billion euros, an increase of 3.8 percent in the past business year. Earnings from operations before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to 4.8 billion euros (2022: 3.8 billion euros), the company announced today. At 5.3 percent, the EBIT margin from operations was 1 percentage point higher than the previous year. It was therefore higher than expected, but still lower than the target margin of at least 7 percent required over the long term. Bosch wants to achieve this by 2026. “We need a high level of profitability and financial strength so we can self-finance our ..read more

Huf Group, the specialist for secure car access and authorization solutions, inaugurated the Technical Center Romania Laboratory (TCRL) in Timisoara. The TCRL is the largest testing and validation center of the company worldwide and will provide automotive customers with high quality products. ”Huf is pursuing a clear growth strategy: the company aims to reach 2 billion Euros net sales by 2031 – and Huf Romania will play an even more important role to reach this target than ever before”, said Bogdan Nuna, CTO of Huf, at the new location of the Technical Center Romania Laboratory. “In ..read more

With the series introduction of so-called Zone Control Units (ZCUs) for European and Asian car manufacturers, Continental has implemented another key component of server-based architectures in addition to high-performance computers. The technology company has received multiple customer orders for zone control units from car manufacturers worldwide. Zone control units form the middle tier of the server-based electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture in software-defined vehicles. Between the levels of sensors and actuators as well as the high-performance computers, they redistribute the vehic ..read more

Hella has made a solid start to the new fiscal year 2024. Group sales in the first quarter 2024 amounted to 2.0 billion Euro. This corresponds to currency-adjusted growth of 2.2 percent; reported sales increased by 0.6 percent. Bernard Schäferbarthold, CEO of Forvia Hella: “We assume that the automotive market will only stagnate in 2024. The industry development in the first quarter confirms this assumption. The start to the new fiscal year is therefore in line with our expectations. We expect the planned series launches and production ramp-ups for example for headlamps, including SSL | HD, a ..read more

In March, a total of 53,696 new cars were produced at the Mioveni and Craiova plants, down 3.1 percent compared to the same period in 2023. At the Dacia plant, 28,602 vehicles were assembled, while the Ford Otosan plant from Craiova produced 25,094 units. In the first three months of 2024, the two plants produced a total of 152,912 new cars, up 7.1 percent compared to the same period in 2023, according to data published by ACAROM. Car production in Romania hit a record in 2023: 513,050 units, up 0.7 percent from 2022 and 22 percent more than 2021 ..read more

FORVIA, the world’s seventh-largest automotive technology supplier, announced that it has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with CHERY, a leading Chinese automaker, to deepen cooperation in the field of smart and sustainable cockpit. FORVIA and CHERY will establish a “Cockpit of the Future” Joint Venture Company in Wuhu, China. This Joint Venture targets to design, develop, manufacture, and supply the full cabin scope related systems and modules including seats, interiors and cockpit electronics with low CO2 emission materials and processes. It is the first Joint Venture of that kind in China a ..read more

BMW Group and Rimac Technology officially announced a long-term partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to co-develop and co-produce solutions in the field of high-voltage battery technology for selected battery-electric vehicles. The BMW Group’s electrification strategy is aimed at building on its leading position in the premium electric mobility sector. The BMW Group brings battery and electric drive system expertise amassed over more than 15 years to the partnership. As an integral part of the Rimac Group, Rimac Technology stands out as a Tier 1 supplier specializing in electrification ..read more

Valeo announced the placement of 850 million euros worth of new green bonds maturing April 11, 2030. This issue raised 850 million euros in bonds maturing in 6 years with a coupon of 4,50%. BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Citibank, Mizuho and Natixis acted as Joint Active Bookrunners. The net proceeds of the transaction will be used for financing projects and investments linked to the portfolio of technologies that contribute to low-carbon mobility, in particular vehicle electrification.  The green bonds are issued under Valeo’s Green and Sustainability-linked Financing framework, estab ..read more

MAHLE and FORVIA HELLA successfully completed the sale of their respective 50 percent stake in the joint venture Behr-Hella Thermocontrol (BHTC) to AUO Corporation. The parties had signed an agreement to sell the shares on 2 October 2023; the transaction has now been approved by the relevant authorities. The total purchase price is based on an enterprise value of 600 million Euro. The sale of the BHTC shares, which has now been completed, is the result of constructive discussions between MAHLE and FORVIA HELLA regarding the future positioning and orientation of BHTC. These talks were initiated ..read more

Continental announces the appointment of Serban Nicolescu to the position of general manager of the tire factory in Timisoara, one of the most modern and strategic production units of the company. He succeeds Matthieu Turlure, who held this position for two years. Serban Nicolescu has been part of the Continental team since 2011 and brings with him extensive experience in the field of production, he previously held roles such as area manager in the Continental tire factory in Sarreguemines (France), production manager Continental Tires Timisoara and Head of Focus Factory User Experience at Con ..read more