Jörg Stratmann
The new Mahle boss wants to bring the technology for electric cars on the road.
(Photo: Verena Müller for Handelsblatt Verena Müller for Handelsblatt)
StuttgartMahle boss Jörg Stratmann is unpretentious. When looking out of his office, he looks directly at the Stuttgart Wilhelma. But he cares less about the animals in the zoo than the model of an air conditioning compressor on the shelf behind the desk. Unlike the engine parts, with which Mahle rose to a group with almost 13 billion euros turnover and 78,000 employees, this unit can be operated in the future with electric motors. It is an example of how the group, which is 99.9 percent owned by a foundation, wants to create the transformation to e-mobility.
Mr. Stratmann, you came to the public unexpectedly on the executive chair of Mahle. Just because of yours Predecessor Wolf-Henning Scheider changed to ZF, the way was suddenly clear. Was it luck? There are always different factors coming together. You need to have the appropriate skills, experience, and good luck and timing. That certainly belongs to it. For me, the beginning of February was a very good time.
Mahle has last made great efforts to become less dependent on the combustion engine, In any case, we are pursuing a dual strategy to make mobility more environmentally friendly: on the one hand, we are improving the internal combustion engine so that it will be cleaner and more climate-friendly. And on the other hand, we need hybridization and electrification and also the fuel cell. We will see that more and more in the street, and we develop the solutions for that. Thermal management plays a very important role in all these worlds.
Why? It helps to further optimize the combustion engine and increases the range and comfort of electric cars and fuel cells. We see huge potential in the fuel cell, and this technology requires a lot of thermal management.
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Where do you, as a company boss, have to go even faster and set your first accents? For me it is particularly exciting to see well-known topics from a new perspective. I visited many plants and customers. This has strengthened my conviction that our dual strategy is right and we need to push it even more. We will set even more emphases in the development area and focus more intensively in order to sufficiently fill the important future technology fields. We have more than 6,000 developers at 16 R & D centers worldwide and spend 750 million euros on this. That’s six percent of sales.
At Bosch and Conti But these rates are double digits. How is the difference explained? In our Mechatronics department, electronics and software also have a much higher development quota than thermal management. In other fields it is typically lower.
Future perspectives of suppliers: the brain of the auto industry
The whole industry is in transformation. Does not Mahle need to invest more in software? We must certainly develop our product portfolio in total. Our Mechatronics business is also growing fastest. The air conditioning compressor – one of the reasons for the acquisition of Delphi Thermal – we can now drive with its own electric motor and control with its own electronics and use it in electric cars. This is an ideal example in which application fields we move. We also do power electronics and control technology for charging batteries. So all the products you need in the electrified world.
But Mahle was late, right? We already set the course many years ago with joining Behr and, in addition, mechatronics. We will continue on this path with our own developments and acquisitions.
And the financial strength is enough for that? Conti wants to get billions on a partial listing. We have a good structure and see the foundation as our owner an absolute strength, because we can develop our company really sustainable. We’ve learned over the decades that we need to make money to invest in our business. This is part of our DNA as a foundation company. But it is clear that the transformation costs money. Therefore, we are also ready to temporarily accept a lower level of earnings.
Your Supervisory Board has demanded more profitability. We are not satisfied with our profitability. There is more. We will see that in the next few years too.
What was the first half of the year? Our half-year results have not yet come, but sales and earnings have developed well. Revenues are above our expectations, and earnings are in line with our forecasts despite very high raw material prices.
They introduced their own small electric car with the “Meet”. Do you want to open up the market from below? We want to make electromobility suitable for the masses and affordable with the corresponding customer benefit. In our concept car “Meet” we show technologies from thermal management to traction motors and power electronics to interior comfort with integrated surface heating – and all based on 48 volts, which is significantly cheaper than a high-voltage solution.
Jörg Stratmann – to the person
But you do not want to be a car manufacturer? No, but we’re putting the technology on the road. There are many customer inquiries, including from Asia. We are already working on different projects with you.
What is your scenario for the next few years? No one can make a serious prediction there. We work with different scenarios: Our base scenario for cars includes one for 2030 global share of battery electric vehicles of almost 15 percent plus an additional 20 percent hybrid. But there are also more extreme scenarios, depending on the influence of regulatory measures. In extreme cases, it can not be ruled out that the share shoots up to 50 percent.
How does the diesel scandal hit you? We are watching the decline in diesel content closely. But it is largely offset by higher demand for gasoline from us.
If you feel abandoned as an industry, we would be very interested in an objectification of the discussion and clear rules and thus security for the consumer. That would stabilize demand and would be good for the whole industry.
What do you mean by “objectification”? We need a mobility that is consistent with global climate goals. And at the same time we need more efficient and lower-emission combustion engines as well as electric mobility. Likewise, alternative fuels produced with renewable energy should be much more politically and publicly perceived.
Ferrari racing car
The supplier Mahle sponsors the Italian Formula 1 racing team.
(Photo: imago / High Two)
And how do you assess the political guidelines? The EU Commission’s proposal to reduce CO2 emissions by another 30 percent for cars by 2030 is already very ambitious. It’s almost like an out-of-competition that is currently taking place in terms of specifications. You can not over-tighten the screw and set realistic goals.
No, it is already very deep in the value chains, and you have to take the employees into the new time. We have big training initiatives in the house. It’s about a healthy realism, to give the industry and also the staff time for the transformation.
And what should prevail? I still hope for the physics and that the society considers the topic holistically over the entire life cycle of a vehicle, so to speak, from the cradle to the grave. Issues such as the type of electricity or energy production must be included. We need technology openness in the solutions in order to meet the environmental requirements in fair competition.
Much smaller than Mahle, one must not be in the transformation to meet the high demands worldwide, or it is a matter of size but above all of competences.
auto supplier
Do you need to help your suppliers in this regard? We need to look carefully to see if our suppliers can go along with the transformation and how we can help them if necessary.
You believe in the technically feasible? The technically feasible must also be economically viable. As an industrial engineer, I attach importance to both aspects.
How does the sponsorship of Ferrari We think that it is a very good commitment to Mahle and that it suits us. We learn from the extreme demands in racing for the series. It keeps us going – especially on the engineering side. The Formula 1 season is currently very exciting.
Mr. Stratmann, thank you for the interview.