Sommer had been the architect of a multiyear repositioning of ZF, searching for to transform the corporate from a provider of transmissions, gears, axles and steering methods to a frontrunner in future autonomous automobile applied sciences. That technique had entailed billions in acquisitions, most prominently the $12.four billion buy of U.S. electronics provider TRW Automotive in 2015.
The TRW deal led to the creation of the second-largest world automotive provider.
ZF’s principal companies are electronics and ADAS, chassis management, parts for electrification, energetic and passive security, and industrial automobile methods. It ranks third on the Automotive Information list of the top 100 global suppliers, with worldwide gross sales to automakers of $33.four billion in 2020.
Underneath Scheider, ZF continued to broaden, most notably with the 2019 acquisition of Wabco for $7 billion to bolster its experience in vehicles and driver-assistance methods.
Scheider additionally confronted an array of business crises, together with the COVID-19 pandemic, the worldwide semiconductor scarcity, and now the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Andreas Model of the Zeppelin Basis praised Scheider in an announcement, saying, “The truth that ZF is again on monitor, after the previous two years of disaster, can be as a result of Wolf-Henning Scheider’s work. We remorse his private choice, but in addition respect it.”