Webasto moves to sell battery business as €1.5bn debt weighs

Webasto is preparing to sell its global high-voltage battery business, a division generating roughly €300 million in annual revenue, as the German supplier works to cut a debt pile of about €1.5 billion. Consistent reports from Handelsblatt and Automobilwoche, citing statements by high-ranking company representatives at Webasto's 125th anniversary celebration, say the Stockdorf-based group intends to use the sale to stabilise its financial position.

The supplier had originally explored all options, including cooperation or a partial sale. That path has closed. The two interested parties now in advanced negotiations are, in the words of one executive quoted as Buchheim, "both interested in a complete takeover."

How did Webasto build this business?

Nearly ten years ago Webasto invested significant capital in future markets for battery systems and charging solutions. Battery pack production started in Germany in 2019 at a plant in Schierling, Bavaria. About three years later the supplier opened a second battery assembly facility in Dangjin, South Korea, and expanded it further in 2024.

The Korean site grew on the back of ongoing orders from Hyundai-Kia for battery systems fitted to several high-volume all-electric passenger car models. Hyundai-Kia remains Webasto's anchor customer in the battery business to this day.

Why sell a growing division?

The mechanism behind the sale is a gap between growth and capital. Buchheim emphasises that the battery business is attractive but requires significant investment. The company says the division grows by an average of 25 per cent annually, and current demand already exceeds available capacity.

Automobilwoche adds the constraint plainly: "However, Webasto itself lacks the funds to finance this growth alone. New production capacities can […] require investments of up to €100 million." A single new production line, in other words, costs roughly a third of the division's yearly revenue.

Both bidders bring not only sufficient equity but also industrialisation expertise and access to applications beyond the automotive sector, Buchheim told Automobilwoche. The division is currently operating at a loss, but the business plan forecasts a turnaround in 2027. A sale would cost Webasto a lucrative growth field, yet it would avoid future financing requirements and free proceeds to pay down pressing debts. No purchase price has been disclosed.

Is this a fire sale?

Buchheim rejects that framing. Speaking to Automobilwoche, he said: "We do not need to make distress sales." The restructuring is fully funded even without divestments, he stated, and any transaction would be an additional positive effect. Available liquidity exceeds the assumptions of the restructuring expert report from October 2025.

The need to restructure at all stems from Webasto's expansion drive after the turn of the millennium, when the supplier invested in several new fields while its core business remained automotive roof systems. The planned revenue growth never recouped those investments. Debts of approximately €1.5 billion accumulated, pushing the company into an agreement with banks last year, under which Webasto negotiated an extension of existing loans and additional borrowing.

Handelsblatt summarises the cost: "The owner families Baier and Mey had to temporarily relinquish control over the majority of shares. 2,000 jobs were cut."

Chief Restructuring Officer Johann Stohner says no further job cuts are planned currently, though the downsizing course will continue in the long term. He is quoted saying the goal is to reduce debt below one billion euros through various measures.

What happens to the heating business?

The battery division is not the only unit facing a new owner. Among the further measures reported by Automobilwoche, Webasto is searching for new perspectives for its electric high-voltage heating business, seeking new owners or partners for individual activities in an area generating around €50 million in revenue.

"Here, too, a strategic partner is being sought who can integrate the technology into a larger system and scale it up," the trade journal writes. The background is price pressure in electric vehicles. Webasto has invested heavily in high-performance heating technology but sees a trend towards more cost-effective solutions. Further innovations would first need to be industrialised, and would again tie up capital.

What to watch next

Watch for the completion of negotiations with the two bidders and any disclosed purchase price, the 2027 turnaround test if the division changes hands, and progress on the debt target below one billion euros. The fate of the high-voltage heating unit, and whether a partner emerges for it, will show how far Webasto's retreat from electrification ventures extends.