Michael Stoschek
Brose owner Michael Stoschek is confident that the joint venture will play a leading role in the market.
Munich The approximately 5000 employees of the VWSubsidiary Sitech get a new owner. Explained on Monday Volkswagen and the Franconian automotive supplier Brose want to set up a joint venture to produce car seats. In fact, Brose takes over half of the VW car seat subsidiary and thus enters a new business area. Both companies signed a corresponding letter of intent at the Brose headquarters in Coburg.
Volkswagen has been looking for a partner for the development and production of car seats. Sitech is part of the “Components” business unit, which has been operating independently since January 2019, in which Volkswagen has bundled the in-house supplier products. The most important locations can be found in Germany, Poland and China. Unlike, for example Daimler or BMW Volkswagen still makes many components itself. Here, the Group wants to cut costs significantly and, if possible, enter into partnerships with suppliers.
“The interior of the future will be a redefined living space, where comfort and security will focus on flexibility and personalization of the interior,” says Thomas Schmall, head of the Components division. The new joint venture could cover this task “perfectly” and Sitech could thus become a “global player”.
Brose owner Michael Stoschek said he was confident that Brose and Volkswagen would take a leading position in the “highly competitive market for vehicle seats”. Daniela Cavallo, deputy head of the works council at Volkswagen, sees the new unit as future-proof. She also referred to securing employment until 2029.
Not just VW as a customer
In the Sitech unit, which is almost exclusively for Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Skoda works, the partnership with a supplier lends itself. On the one hand, the cost pressure increases, on the other hand, new technologies also have to be developed for car seats.
In addition to mechanical comfort functions such as seat adjustment, car seats will also become data suppliers in the future, for example by collecting and evaluating the driver’s state of health. Brose, with sales of 6.3 billion euros and 26,000 employees, is a global supplier group with a focus on interior furnishings.
The company specializes in door and locking systems and adjustable seats. With Sitech, the Franks would have access to one of the major seat suppliers. The new company is also intended to advertise for third-party customers beyond the orders from the VW Group. Here Sitech kicks Adient, Lear and Faurecia the leading providers of car seats. The global market for car seats has a volume of just under $ 80 billion.
More: VW seat manufacturer closes plant with 450 jobs in Hanover.