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Mahle – Electrification as a Growth Engine

The automotive supplier Mahle is realigning itself. Electrification and thermal management, as well as components for highly efficient, green combustion engines, form the core of the company's strategy. The Stuttgart-based group has recorded new orders worth over 11 billion euros – more than half of which are for products independent of combustion engines.

Components for electric vehicles promise higher returns than parts for combustion engines.| Photo: Mahle
Components for electric vehicles promise higher returns than parts for combustion engines.| Photo: Mahle
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Thomas Kanzler

For electric vehicles, the corporation sees three times higher revenue potential compared to vehicles with internal combustion engines. In the 2022 fiscal year, revenue increased by 14 percent to 12.4 billion euros. The corporation achieved a positive operating result. In the current year, the supplier expects further revenue growth and higher profitability. The technology group received new orders worth over 11 billion euros in 2022, with about half of them for products independent of internal combustion engines. The strongest revenue growth was in the business units of thermal management (+16 percent) and electronics and mechatronics (+13 percent) – both particularly relevant for e-mobility. However, business units connected with internal combustion engines, as well as the spare parts and accessories business, also recorded double-digit growth.

“We will seize growth opportunities with a multitude of innovative, highly efficient products for e-mobility and our mature system competence in thermal management,” said CEO Arnd Franz at the financial report presentation on Tuesday in Stuttgart. “2022 was an exceptionally good year for orders for Mahle. We will carry this momentum forward and continue the upswing.”

Setbacks in the First Half of 2022

In 2022, crisis-induced massive cost increases in raw materials, energy, and freight significantly affected the business of the automotive supplier, particularly in the first half of the year. The company countered with cost savings, productivity increases, and price adjustments, resulting in significant improvements in revenue and operating profit in the second half.

“We achieved this also because we worked closely with our customers and suppliers to fairly distribute the additional costs,” says Mahle CFO Markus Kapaun. “The upward trend from the second half has continued into the first quarter of the new fiscal year according to preliminary figures. This shows that we are successful with the mix of innovative products for e-mobility and mature expertise in combustion engines,” adds Franz.

While an EBIT loss was still recorded in the books for the first six months of the previous year, earnings improvements in the third and fourth quarters led to a positive operating result. However, it was still lower than the previous year at 60 million euros. The massive crisis-related additional costs of 800 million euros could not be fully compensated for over the entire year. For 2022, Mahle reports a deficit of 332 million euros after financial expenses and taxes and aims for a turnaround in 2023. The equity ratio was 20.2 percent.

Priority for Electrification - Mahle 2030+

For its strategic realignment, the group has committed credit lines and liquid assets of 2.3 billion euros. This includes a loan from the European Investment Bank worth 300 million euros to develop zero-emission vehicle technologies.

“Mahle has a stable financing perspective. We can draw on a diverse and balanced financing portfolio,” emphasizes Kapaun.

Technologically, Mahle is driving the transformation forward. 5.4 percent of sales flow into research and development, a large part of which goes into new strategic fields. 70 percent of the almost 400 newly registered patents concern electrification.

As part of its electrification strategy, the group is focusing primarily on electric drives and intelligent charging. Two new e-motors are receiving significant customer response: The Superior Continuous Torque (SCT) e-motor is currently the first electric traction motor on the market that delivers consistently high performance. This makes it particularly interesting for use in commercial vehicles. The Magnet-free Contactless Transmitter (MCT) e-motor, on the other hand, does not require rare earths and operates efficiently and wear-free.With Mahle chargeBIG, the group has a proven charging solution for parking lots on the market. In addition, it is working with Siemens on wireless charging.

Combustion engine technology remains in the portfolio

In the field of conventional drives, Mahle remains a supplier to vehicle and engine manufacturers and aims to drive efficiency progress with new products. The group is focusing on more green combustion engines that run on hydrogen and synthetic fuels and aims to gain market share.

“Our customers appreciate that we continue to support the combustion engine as part of our strategy,” says Franz.

What does that mean?

Mahle has also recognized that the value creation potential of electric cars is significantly higher than that of combustion engines. With high-performance compressors, electric motors, thermal management for interiors and vehicle batteries, and charging technology, the Stuttgart-based supplier is well positioned.

Translated automatically from German.
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