Auto industry: Schaeffler writes off millions because of China – and confirms the forecast

Berlin. The automotive supplier Schaeffler is writing off millions due to the weaker electric car business in China.

In total, the industrial group is setting aside around 240 million euros. The majority (220 million) of this was incurred in the third quarter. Schaeffler announced this on Tuesday.

The burdens arise because business with electric cars from European manufacturers is collapsing, especially in China. The demand for electric vehicles from German manufacturers in the People's Republic, for example, has been shrinking for years. “The problem has gotten significantly worse since the beginning of the year,” Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld told Handelsblatt.

Manufacturers play almost no role in the Chinese electrical market. According to Jefferies analyst Vanessa Jeffriess, it's "not particularly surprising that the pressure is starting to make itself felt." However, the most important business figures were below the analysts' consensus. Schaeffler shares temporarily fell to their lowest level in a year.

According to Rosenfeld, the group is using the depreciation to correct excess capacity that weighed on the balance sheet of the e-mobility division. Schaeffler is also streamlining its portfolio of thermal management systems, which are used in battery cooling, for example.