ZF Friedrichshafen has completed its acquisition of Wabco Holdings Inc. in a deal that — valued at more than $7 billion — demonstrates a prominent foray into self-driving commercial vehicles for the supplier.
A ZF spokesman confirmed that the German parts supplier, which specializes in driveline and chassis technology, completed its acquisition of Wabco on Friday morning.
ZF first announced its plans to purchase Wabco, largely a trucking parts supplier, in March 2019. Wabco holds operational headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., not far from several other major automotive suppliers in the suburban Detroit area, but it is largely based in Brussels.
Wabco supplies integrated braking systems and stability control systems, air suspension systems and transmission automation controls, as well as aerodynamics, telematics and fleet management solutions for commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and trailers.
“The combination of both businesses is expected to further accelerate the development of new technologies to enable autonomous commercial vehicle functions, making ZF less dependent on the economic cycle of the passenger-car industry,” ZF said in 2019.
ZF previously said it expects to generate about $44 billion a year in revenue from the purchase, which it hopes will form a leading integrated systems provider for commercial vehicle technology.
Aside from this potentially massive cash boost, ZF’s acquisition is an interesting move as suppliers become more competitive and find their role within the future mobility landscape.
This also isn’t the first big move ZF has made toward the future. Previously, ZF pledged to invest more than $13.6 billion into electric vehicles and autonomous driving.
In 2014, ZF acquired TRW Automotive in a $13.5 billion deal to expand into the self-driving car market.
ZF also announced in March its partnership with self-driving truck company TuSimple for development and commercialization of its autonomous systems.
The crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic did not significantly delay the close of the deal as it was expected to be finalized in the second quarter of this year, the company has said.
Still, reports say that ZF has not been exempt from other hits resulting from the current crisis. According to Reuters, the supplier told employees on Thursday that it plans to reduce its workforce by up to 15,000 jobs, or around 10 percent, by 2025 as a result of a slump in demand.
ZF ranks No. 5 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with worldwide sales to automakers of $36.9 billion in 2018.
