Webasto opens new battery centre in Jiaxing

“With the opening of our new location in Jiaxing, we are continuing to consistently pursue the implementation of our dual strategy of strengthening our core business with roofs and expanding our new business area with solutions for electromobility in China, the biggest single market for Webasto worldwide,” says Dr. Holger Engelmann, Chairman of the Management Board of Webasto SE, in a press release. Since last fall, Webasto has been manufacturing electric heaters and charging stations – in addition to roofs – at its new site in Wuhan. In Jiaxing, the automotive supplier has now established a battery center in addition to a roof production facility. “Having successfully entered the European market with electromobility solutions, we are now pleased to be able to offer our Chinese customers our complete extended product range. Despite the challenges of the market we see further growth potential for Webasto here,” Engelmann pointed out at the opening ceremony in Jiaxing. The new battery center provides capabilities for testing, prototyping and producing battery systems, which will enable Webasto to provide full-scale battery solutions to local customers. Over an area of 9’600 square meters the center is equippped to test the performance of cells, modules and entire battery packs under extreme temperatures and strong movements. With some 36,000 square meters of constructed area, the new plant has a production capacity of 1.5 million roofs a year. The number of employees at this site is expected to rise from currently around 200 to 460 in 2020.