GDELS acquires Faurecia plant in Augsburg

General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) has reached an agreement with French Forvia Group for the acquisition of the Faurecia plant in Augsburg, Germany.

This allows the long-established site, founded back in 1875, to continue operation with the majority of its workforce. Currently, the plant, which belongs to Forvia's Clean Mobility division, manufactures exhaust systems for cars and commercial vehicles. GDELS will build upon the existing expertise in automotive technology and welding, including the development and production of sophisticated, specialized small vehicle series, and further invest into the site to make it GDELS’ largest vehicle plant in Germany and the center of excellence for the German Armed Forces’ EAGLE light tactical vehicles.

The strategic location near the two new GDELS sites in Immenstaad and Oberpfaffenhofen, as well as the main sites in Switzerland and Rhineland-Palatinate, the favorable infrastructure connections, the existing industry cluster in the region, and the support of local authorities and Bavaria’s state government alike also contributed to the choice.

The German Armed Forces recently ordered several batches of the EAGLE and PIRANHA vehicle families, which will partially be manufactured by the new subsidiary GDELS–Fahrzeugwerke in southern Germany. As part of its Strategy 24/500, announced last year, the company is expanding its production and service capacities throughout Germany for this purpose.

Giuseppe Chillari, GDELS Vice President and Managing Director of EAGLE OEM GDELS–Mowag, explains the decision: “The Augsburg plant is a further step in our commitment to our German customer and impressive proof of our promise to fully meet their expectations regarding quality and on-time delivery. We look forward to working with the highly qualified and motivated employees we have met at this attractive location. For us, this acquisition is also a commitment to sustainable growth for the workforce, the city, and the state of Bavaria.”

GDELS President Antonio Bueno adds: “The Augsburg location underscores our continued growth trajectory in Germany and Europe and fits seamlessly into our strategy of always operating close to the customer. It sends a clear signal: GDELS remains a reliable partner of our armed forces in all aspects of protected land mobility.”