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Webasto

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Webasto SE
Company typePrivate
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1901[1]
Headquarters
Gauting-Stockdorf
,
Germany
Key people
Jörg Buchheim (CEO)
Revenue4,6 Mrd. Euro (2023)[2]
Number of employees
16,600 (2023)[2]
Websitewww.webasto.com

Webasto SE is a company headquartered in Stockdorf, Germany, which makes sunroofs, hardtop convertible modules, electric-car chargers and air-conditioning systems.[3]

History

The company was founded by Werner Baier in 1901 as a bicycle spoke manufacturer.[3]

In 1997, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated Webasto sunroof modules that shattered or blew off of 1991-1994 the Ford Explorer and Mazda Najavo.[4]

In 2021, after delays in hardtop production caused the hardtop Ford Bronco launch to be delayed, the roof modules were delivered with cosmetic defects. Already-sold models had their tops replaced.[5][6]

Coronavirus outbreak

Webasto owns 11 locations in China, including in Wuhan.[7] In late January 2020, the company disclosed that five of its workers had tested positive to SARS-CoV-2.[8][9][10] This was reportedly one of the first cases of person-to-person transmission of the virus outside China.[10]

The outbreak was handled internally within the company.[11] The story was initially reported in The Wall Street Journal as a case of successful containment of the outbreak.[3] By March 2020, genome studies tracking mutations of the virus suggested that the Webasto outbreak had not been successfully contained, and was linked to a 'decent part' of the overall coronavirus outbreak in Europe.[12] Genetic sequencing also linked the cluster of cases at Webasto's headquarters to the virus outbreak in northern Italy.[13] In May 2020 some medical disprove this assumptions and confirm that the Webasto case remained isolated,[14] while in July other studies identified the most common Italian strain as coming from Germany.[15]

Autonomous driving

In 2022, Webasto has joined forces with Bosch to develop a self-driving car that will enable autonomous driving at Level 4.[16] The company has integrated 25 sensors from Bosch into the roof of a prototype vehicle for this purpose.[16]

Charging Division

Webasto purchased AeroVironment's charging division in 2018.[17]

Webasto has offices in Monrovia, California and Planegg, Germany, for the EV charging division, as well as manufacturing facilities in Guanajuato, Mexico, Schaidt, Germany, and Wuhan, China.[18][19]

General Motors had to recall over 9000 Webasto charging cords in 2023.[20]

After looking for a buyer for two years, Webasto sold a majority stake of the charging business to Transom Capital Group in 2024. The company had taken heavy financial losses from the division.[21][6][22]

Current production of roof modules

Past production of roof modules

Facilities

  • Germany: Schierling (battery assembly)[24]
  • USA: Detroit[6]
  • China: Jiaxing (battery, roof modules),[24] 10 other locations
  • South Korea: Dangjin (battery assembly, opened 2022)Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
  • India[24]
  • Japan[24]
  • Mexico: Guanajuato (charging), Irapuato (roof modules)[25]

References

  1. ^ "Das Unternehmen – Geschichte". webasto-group.com. Webasto Group. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  2. ^ a b "Das Unternehmen – Zahlen & Fakten". webasto.com. Webasto Group. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  3. ^ a b c Boston, William (6 March 2020). "The Company That Fought the Coronavirus and Won". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Motorists complain of sunroofs flying off". Tampa Bay Times. 17 August 1997. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  5. ^ Colias, Mike (12 August 2021). "Revival of Ford Bronco SUV Hits Production Snag". WSJ. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Webasto seeks investor for EV charging division - electrive.com". electrive.com. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2025. Because the new plant in Detroit opened late, Webasto could not deliver a significant Ford order for the Bronco SUV on time, forcing Ford to postpone the market launch. Later, Ford had to replace thousands of hardtop roofs manufactured by Webasto due to quality problems.
  7. ^ "Angela Merkel Opens New Webasto Location in Wuhan".
  8. ^ "German car supplier Webasto halts China corporate travel over coronavirus: spokeswoman". Reuters. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Webasto halts travel to China after 2 employees in Germany contract coronavirus | Automotive News". 28 January 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Germany confirms seventh coronavirus case". Reuters. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Coronavirus: Why employers need a balance on communication". Human Resource Executive. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020. Webasto ... directly handled coronavirus cases within the company's Germany office in January.
  12. ^ Regalado, Antonio. "Gene sleuths are tracking the coronavirus outbreak as it happens". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Italian virologists trace coronavirus outbreak in Italy to German car parts manufacturer". Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Italiens Corona-Katastrophe hat Verantwortliche".
  15. ^ "In Italia un solo ceppo proveniente dalla Germania e più contagioso". 19 July 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Autonomes Fahren Level 4: Bosch und Webasto präsentieren Prototypen". www.elektrotechnik.vogel.de (in German). 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  17. ^ Nora Manthey (6 May 2018). "Webasto buying AeroVironment EV unit for $35M - electrive.com". electrive.com. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  18. ^ "Webasto sucht Investor für Ladesäulen-Geschäft". handelsblatt.com. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  19. ^ Chris Randall (21 February 2023). "Webasto opens new charger factory in Mexico - electrive.com". electrive.com. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  20. ^ Chris Randall (8 September 2023). "GM announces recall for Webasto charging cords in the USA - electrive.com". electrive.com. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  21. ^ "Webasto withdraws from the charging infrastructure business - electrive.com". electrive.com. 10 Feb 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  22. ^ "Autozulieferer: Webasto findet Käufer für defizitäres Ladegeschäft". handelsblatt.com. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  23. ^ "2009 Porsche Cayenne GTS 6-Speed". 27 January 2024.
  24. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference sk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Chris Randall (21 February 2023). "Webasto opens new charger factory in Mexico - electrive.com". electrive.com. Retrieved 19 March 2025.


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