Mahle is completing the next important step in its transformation. The automotive supplier is streamlining its group structure to become faster and more efficient in the implementation of its strategy Mahle 2030+. The changes include the reorganization and merger of business units in order to strengthen the strategic areas of electrification and thermal management, both structurally and in production. In the course of these changes, Mahle will acquire all the remaining minority interests, amounting to almost 25 percent, in the thermal management specialist Mahle Behr GmbH & Co. KG. The Group Management Board will be downsized from seven members at present to four in the future. “Mahle is doing its homework for the transformation,” said Arnd Franz, Chairman of the Group Management Board and CEO. “Through these far-reaching changes, we will make our business ready for the future. We are accelerating the implementation of our group strategy which will position us as an innovative and sustainably profitable shaper of future mobility.” “Through the reorganization and the resulting streamlining of the Management Board, we will significantly improve the integration of our group and be able to make more effective use of synergies,” said Prof. Dr. Heinz K. Junker, Chairman of the Mahle Supervisory Board.
Merging of business units
Effective January 1, 2025, Mahle will reduce the number of its business units from five to three. Four existing business units will be merged to form two new business units. In doing so, the group is following industrial logic by pooling business areas with related production technology. “The reorganization of our business units will not only significantly accelerate internal cooperation. It will also offer new prospects for locations closely connected with the internal combustion engine and peripheral components. They will be able to contribute their industrial know-how to these future-oriented areas,” the CEO emphasized. In addition, he said that it would now be possible to form a high-performance production network and further reduce costs.
In future, the former business units “Engine Systems and Components”, and “Electronics and Mechatronics” will operate under the name of “Powertrain and Charging”. This way, Mahle will strengthen its strategy field of electrification by allowing the focus areas of efficient electric motors and intelligent charging to benefit from the group’s over 100 years of experience with engine systems and components. An example of interaction between mechanical, electrical and electronics is the development of the electrical compressor, one of the company’s most successful products.
The activities of the former business units “Filtration and Engine Peripherals” and “Thermal Management” will be merged in the new business unit “Thermal and Fluid Systems”. Here, thermal management will be able to access production competencies in filtration developed within the group over many years, enabling it to place competitive future-oriented technologies on the market. Mahle is committed to thermal management and intends to continue growth in this area. This is confirmed by the company’s decision to fully take over the affiliated company Mahle Behr GmbH & Co. KG. with effect from January 1, 2025. Mahle had acquired its first shares in the thermal management specialist in 2010 and had gradually increased its stake to slightly more than 75 percent since then. “Following several major acquisitions in the thermal management field, this step will successfully complete the integration of this business in the Mahle Group,” said Franz.
The Aftermarket business unit with its established product range and additional competence in electrification and digitalization will be continued as a separate business unit under the name of “Lifecycle and Mobility”.
Downsizing of Group Management Board
With this new group structure, the Mahle Management Board will consist of the following four members from January 1, 2025:
Arnd Franz will continue to be the Chairman of the Management Board and CEO. In future, Human Resources will no longer be a separate Management Board function. Arnd Franz will also assume the function of statutory Labor Director. It has been mutually agreed with Dr. Beate Bungartz, the previous Labor Director and Member of the Management Board, that her work for the company will end. She has resigned from her positions with effect from November 29, 2024.
Markus Kapaunremains a Member of the Group Management Board and CFO
Jumana Al-Sibai, responsible to date for the “Thermal Management” business unit, will remain a Member of the Group Management Board, responsible for “Thermal and Fluid Systems” in the future. It has been mutually agreed with the previous Management Board Member responsible for the merged business unit of “Filtration and Engine Peripherals”, Martin Weidlich, that his work for the company will end. He has resigned from his positions with effect from November 29, 2024.
Georg Dietz, responsible to date for the “Engine Systems and Components” business unit, will remain a Member of the Management Board, responsible for “Powertrain and Charging” in the future. Martin Wellhoeffer, responsible for the merged “Electronics and Mechatronics” business unit, will transfer to the “Thermal and Fluid Systems” business unit as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Supervisory Board thanks leaving Board Members
Prof. Dr. Heinz K. Junker, Chairman of the Mahle Supervisory Board, who developed the new group structure in close cooperation with CEO Arnd Franz, said: “On behalf of the Mahle supervisory bodies, I would like to thank the Management Board Members Dr. Beate Bungartz and Martin Weidlich, who are now leaving the group, for their excellent and dedicated work. In his five years with Mahle, Martin Weidlich has performed great services both for the “Filtration and Engine Peripherals” business unit and in his group responsibility for operational excellence, production and purchasing. Over the past two years, Dr. Beate Bungartz has successfully continued the development of our human resources organization and has initiated the transformation dialog with employee representatives in Germany. Dr. Beate Bungartz and Martin Weidlich have my best wishes for their personal lives and careers in the future.
Equally, the supervisory bodies and I would like to thank Martin Wellhoeffer for his considerable commitment as a Management Board member. Under his leadership for almost two years, the “Electronics and Mechatronics” business unit has significantly expanded the competences of Mahle in the fields of efficient electric drive systems and intelligent charging. We are convinced that Martin Wellhoeffer will forge ahead with the operational excellence and transformation as COO of what is to be our largest business unit in the future.”
SOURCE: Mahle
