If you think of a car seat manufacturer, chances are that the company will quickly come to mind. RecaroThe German brand is one of the most important in the industry; you only have to look at the number of legendary cars that have its logo stamped on the seats, from top-level supercars to more popular ones, such as various generations of the Volkswagen Golf GTI or the latest Ford Fiesta ST.
Unfortunately, Recaro is not going through its best moment and, according to the media, Autocaris bankrupt. The bankruptcy It only affects the Recaro Automotive division of the Recaro Group, i.e. the company that makes car seats.
Recaro is one of the references in the world of car seats
These are strange times for the automotive industry because this is the time in recent decades when the most changes are taking place, both due to electrification, the state of the global economy and the unstoppable advance of Chinese manufacturers.
That’s why there are many companies that are not doing well, and we are not just talking about start-ups, such as Lightyear, Fisker or Sono Motors, but also historic firms, such as Recaro Automotive.
So much so that its beginnings date back to 1906, when the company Wlhelm Reutter as Stuttgarter Carosserie und Radfabrik was founded, which decades later would end up manufacturing the body of the Porsche 356 and, later, becoming Recaro (from Reutter + Carosserie) and specializing in the manufacture of sports seats.
According to the media Autocar, Recaro Automotive is bankrupt. This is the car seat division of the Recaro Group, which also has other business areas through its various companies, from airplane seats, with Recaro Aicraft Seating, to Recaro Gamin and Recaro Child Safety, specializing, respectively, in eGames seats and child seats/strollers.
It is not a new situation for Recaro Automotive because it has already gone through several delicate moments at a financial level since was founded in 1963, to the point that it has had several owners throughout its more than six decades of history. Four years ago it was sold to a Detroit private equity fund called Raven Acquisitions and things have not gone well since then.
The company has 215 workers at its Kircheim unter Teck plant in Germany, and the bankruptcy situation has taken everyone by surprise. Over the next few days, the German union IG Metall is expected to meet with staff representatives to explore solutions.
Recaro Automotive’s demise is unlikely, given its track record and the relevance of this brand within the sector. It is true that a good part of its business is based on the OEM market, that is, selling seats as accessoriesand since cars adopted airbags in the seats, it is much more complicated to replace a factory seat with one sold by Recaro or any other brand, such as Sabelt or Sparco. Also, you have to bear in mind that Recaro seats are not cheap and there are very few people willing to pay for them, as much as we all like them.
It doesn’t help that there are fewer and fewer sports cars, especially popular sports cars that sold relatively well. Recaro has been supplier of many car brands since their creation, such as Porsche, Volkswagen or Ford, but there are fewer and fewer models that have their seats.
One possibility that cannot be ruled out is that some Chinese investment group will buy the company and continue with the line of business, but there is a risk that the quality and good work that have always characterized Recaro will be lost along the way, as has happened in so many other cases.
Recaro Aircraft Seating, Recaro Gaming, Recaro Safety, Recaro Rail and Recaro Special Applications, on the other hand, do not appear to be experiencing any problems and the bankruptcy of Recaro Automotive should not affect them.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
