Knorr-Bremse Acquires Bosch’s Commercial Vehicle Powertrain Business in Japan

Knorr-Bremse, a German company, has recently penned a deal with Bosch to purchase its on-highway CVS transmission components business in Japan. After the acquisition, the company is set to develop and produce gear shift units and clutch actuators as well as transmission control units for trucks and buses in Asia.

The agreement is said to reinforce Knorr-Bremse’s vehicle powertrain business for transmission control solutions in Asia.

According to Knorr-Bremse Executive Board member Dr. Peter Laier, for the company, this acquisition represents a crucial step in expanding their presence in the fast growing Asian market for automated manual transmission (AMT) as well as dual clutch transmissions (DCT) and will enable them to meet the needs of their customers in this region more completely. He said that the CVS transmission product range makes the perfect complement for the portfolio of Knorr-Bremse as a key player in this segment.

Both Knorr-Bremse and Bosch have not revealed the value of the deal which is awaiting approval by the anti-trust authorities. The acquisition is anticipated to boost Knorr-Bremse’s competitiveness in the AMT and DCT transmission sector.

Laier concluded that they would be able to leverage synergies fast and join forces to attain the sharp increase of the AMT market share that they are targeting particularly in the region and in China. “With this in mind, we are planning an even closer engineering collaboration between our subsidiaries in Japan and China as well as with the European R&D team.”