The Mahle Group is expanding its presence in China, Mahle’s fastest growing market.
This week, a new plant for automotive compressors was officially opened in Changshu/China. Mahle says it is thus strengthening its positioning in the climate compressor business – a fast-growing market segment.
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“With our new compressor plant in Changshu, we are further expanding our Mahle’s presence in China, the market with the strongest growth opportunities,” explains Wolf-Henning Scheider, chairman of the Mahle Management Board and CEO. “The new investment is evidence of our confidence in the future growth of the Changshu plant and the automotive compressor business as a whole,” comments Dr. Jörg Stratmann, responsible for Thermal Management in the Mahle Management Board.
The new Mahle plant for automotive compressors in Changshu originates from an existing site in Suzhou. With the move to Changshu, Mahle has seized the opportunity to also expand its production facilities; its production capacity has doubled as a result of the expansion. Construction of the new plant started in August 2015. Thus far, Mahle has invested around EUR24m (RMB180m) (US$26.6m) in production facilities at the location in the Changshu industrial park. Mahle plans further investments for this site in the years to come. Currently, around 330 employees work at the plant. The number of employees is also expected to increase within the next years.
The Mahle Group’s growth in China in the past six years works out at a compounded annual growth rate of 21%. China is thus the fastest growing market for Mahle. Mahle’s rapidly rising sales are also reflected in the development of the workforce. Since 2011, the number of people employed by Mahle in China has doubled. In 2016, there were over 7,800 employees in China.
