ZF Taps Wilhelm Rehm to Lead Forthcoming CV Unit
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ZF Friedrichshafen AG announced it appointed Wilhelm Rehm to head its forthcoming new commercial vehicle solutions division as it pursues what the company called its ambitious commercial vehicle growth strategy worldwide.
At the same time, the privately held company announced improved first-half financial results.
The new division will combine ZF’s commercial vehicle technology and commercial vehicle control systems divisions with an expected start date of Jan. 1, according to the Friedrichshafen, Germany-based company. The control systems division was created from assets acquired via ZF’s purchase of Wabco Holdings. That $7.1 billion deal was announced in March 2019 and closed in May 2020.
Currently, Rehm oversees ZF’s commercial vehicle business in addition to industrial technology and materials management.
“Bringing together ZF’s expertise and capabilities, the commercial vehicle solutions division will further build on our combined technology successes,” Rehm said in a release. “This includes the recent launch of OnGuardMAX, our most advanced autonomous emergency braking assistance system and ZF’s first complete ‘in-house’ system integrating camera, radar, ECU and actuation for commercial vehicles. In line with ZF’s next generation mobility strategy, the division will also help ZF leapfrog towards market leadership in e-mobility, vehicle operating systems, autonomous driving and digitalization.”
Together, ZF’s current commercial vehicle technology and control systems divisions are supported by 25,000 employees networked across 61 locations in 28 countries.
Meanwhile, privately held ZF reported higher revenue and earnings before interest and taxes in the first half of 2021 compared with a year earlier.
From January through June, the company — which reports in euros — generated the equivalent sales of $22.9 billion, a 43% increase compared with $16 billion a year earlier.
The company reported an adjusted EBIT of $1.2 billion, giving it an EBIT margin of 5.2% compared with minus 1.3% in the 2020 period.
“We took the momentum from the second half of 2020 into this year and benefited from the economic recovery of the automotive industry,” said ZF CEO Wolf-Henning Scheider in a release. “At the same time, we have continuously developed our organization in terms of agile cooperation and secured numerous new orders with innovative technologies for lowering emissions and enhancing vehicle safety.”
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In the second half of the year, ZF expects a “sustained burden” from higher costs for raw materials and logistics services. “Risks could emerge from the continued limited availability of semiconductors and the further development of the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said.
ZF reported during the period it partially readjusted its supply chains and shortened them by increasingly involving local suppliers. “In addition, longer-term trends are accelerating, which is evident in Europe through new highly ambitious CO2 emissions limits,” said Scheider. “While this increases the demand for all-electric drives, it will be very difficult to strike a balance between climate protection, employment and people’s mobility needs. A clear plan for infrastructure development, from power generation and power grids to the charging infrastructure, is essential in helping determine the path forward.”
Among the first-half company highlights in North America were:
- ZF in February announced it is investing $200 million in commercial vehicle transmission manufacturing in North America.
- ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems Americas in April announced the first delivery of Navistar International LT series trucks equipped with its Wabco Maxxus L2.0 air disc brakes.
In addition, the company announced that Julien Plenchette was appointed to oversee the Americas for the combined commercial vehicle division.
ZF reported it expects to generate sales between $44 billion and $46.2 billion this year.
Group shareholders of the company include the Zeppelin Foundation, administered by the City of Friedrichshafen, which holds 93.8% of shares, and the Dr. Jürgen and Irmgard Ulderup Foundation of Lemförde, Germany, with 6.2% of shares.
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