German automotive components manufacturer Draexlmaier will reportedly close its wiring harness plant in Serbia's northern city of Zrenjanin by the end of March. A report on SeeNews said the closure follows a failure to secure new projects for the facility. It cited a notice sent to the company’s employees.

The report also said that existing projects at the facility will be halted by the end of January, which will impact the vast majority of the plant’s 1,100 workers.

Draexlmaier launched production in Serbia in 2008.

The report noted that the weaker European vehicle market is weighing down on the automotive supplier sector in southeast Europe.

However, the Draexlmaier plant in Zrenjanin appeared to have a brighter future in the summer when a redundancy programme was suspended on the prospect of an imminent upturn in new orders due to higher-than-expected electric vehicle demand in Europe.

BEVs with their high fitment rates of electric/electronic components are a good source of business for wiring harness specialists such as Draexlmaier.