Press Releases, 20.08.2010

Preh and Joyson sign letter of intent to form a joint venture

Preh GmbH, Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany, and Joyson Automotive Electronic Holding Co., Ltd, Ningbo (China) plan to establish a joint venture to manufacture, develop and market Preh products in Asia. The two automotive suppliers have signed a letter of intent. The joint venture will have its offices in Ningbo, China, one of the leading technology sites for the Chinese automotive industry. Both companies expect quick regulatory approvals for the JV and plan to begin operations in 2010.

Dr. Michael Roesnick, president of Preh GmbH, said, “For Preh, this detailed agreement with Joyson is a decisive step into the Chinese market. With its engineering competence and access to customers, Joyson is an ideal partner for Preh. The joint venture will increase our competitiveness further. At the same time, the entry into the Chinese market represents a logical continuation of the international strategy that we have pursued in the past five years with our new plants in Mexico and Romania and our sales office in Shanghai.”

Jeff Wang, chairman and partner of Joyson, said, “We are delighted to have found in Preh a distinguished partner that has consistently proven its first-class competence for intelligent mechatronic systems, particularly in the premium segment. Joyson and Preh complement one another ideally as automotive suppliers in different regions, so that we will be able to offer our joint customers superior and reasonably priced vehicle interior control systems.”

The Preh group of companies is active globally and has approximately 2,300 employees in Germany, Portugal, France, Mexico, the U.S.A. and Romania. Since February 2009, Preh has also had a sales office in Shanghai. Its headquarters is located in Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany. The company was founded in 1919 and in FY 2009 had sales of about €250 million. In 2010 the company expects a substantial sales increase of about 30%. Preh’s product development and manufacturing competence is focused on interior control systems, sensors, ECUs and manufacturing systems for leading automobile manufacturers.

Joyson automotive is an automotive supplier headquartered in Ningbo, China. The Joyson Group has about 1,800 employees and sales of €140 million. Its operating companies comprise Bosen Electronic, Joyson Changchun Automotive and Shanghai Huade.