Slump leaves Recaro Automotive In Trouble

You know it’s tough times when the world’s most famous automotive seat manufacturer files for bankruptcy.

Automobilwoche recently reported Recaro Automotive was filing for protection via Germany’s Esslingen District Court. The company is now said to be in self-administration, so it can continue operating under company management as it goes through bankruptcy proceedings.

Recaro started out as a coachbuilder in 1906, making bodies for Mercedes, VW and Porsche, including the 356. The 1960s saw it become the bespoke seat making company it is today. Its first seat products ended up in the Porsche 911 in 1965.

Nowadays, the company has 215 employees at its factory in Kirchheim under Teck, Germany.

Autocar UK said employees were not made aware of the bankruptcy filing beforehand.

“We expect all options to be exhausted in order to secure jobs and find a sustainable solution,” a spokesperson for the relevant trade union told Automobilwoche.

Recaro Automotive is the only division that filed for bankruptcy. The company make-up is complex. Recaro makes aircraft, office, and gaming chairs, along with baby seats. Those products all come from different divisions, however, some of which are unaffected by the bankruptcy filing.

In 2011 Johnson Controls acquired the Recaro Automotive division. That company morphed into Adient in 2016 which then sold it to a Detroit-based private investment firm, Raven Acquisitions, LLC in 2020.

It’s unclear what the bankruptcy filing means for the immediate future of Recaro Automotive. The company is responsible for producing high-performance seats for various vehicles, including BMW, VW and Ford. It is also reliant on sales to the motorsport industry.