For sale: six plants in three countries employing about 2,000, a business that generated 200 million euros ($218.5 million) in 2024 revenue. The cost? 1 euro.
That's the price Chinese automotive interiors supplier Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic Co. has agreed to accept in order to unload its loss-making unit, NBHX Trim Europe. German's Mutares SE & Co. KGaA has agreed to buy the business.
The transaction includes plants NBHX Trim Europe operates in Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom, according to Ningbo Huaxiang. NBHX Trim Europe, headquartered in Bruchsal, Germany, is a supplier of decorative surfaces for premium automotive interiors in Europe. It develops and produces interior components from aluminum, wood, carbon, leather and injection molded plastics.
Its European business "has made a large amount of losses since 2014", which "has produced a relatively big negative impact on the overall development" of the parent company, said Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic without specifying the losses.
Mutares said it expects to close the deal with Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic in the second quarter of 2025.
Based in Munich, Mutares has been active in sweeping up production being discarded by other companies. It purchased Fischer Automotive Systems GmbH & Co KG in 2024 and the plastic parts business of filtration supplier Mann + Hummel in 2022. In 2023 it created the holding company Armaneos to oversee multiple smaller firms.
Headquartered in Ningbo, China, Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic supplies trims and interior parts to automakers globally. It also provides rearview mirrors, electronic control units and wire harnesses to automotive clients.
In the first three quarters of 2024, Ningbo Huaxiang reported net profit of 184 million yuan ($25.3 million), a 44 percent decline from the same period a year earlier.