Norio Yajima (Saitama branch chief executive/Hitachi Automotive Systems working union), Thomas Lippert (chief financial officer, Knorr-Bremse AP), Baoping Xu (president, Knorr-Bremse CVS AP), Kunito Nakatsuru (managing director Knorr-Bremse steering systems Japan), Masahiko Horiuchi (managing director Knorr-Bremse rail Japan), and Joachim Baczewski (managing director Knorr-Bremse CVS Japan).

Knorr-Bremse, the global market leader for braking systems and a leading supplier of other rail and commercial vehicle subsystems, has finalised the acquisition of Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd‘s commercial vehicle steering business.

“Knorr-Bremse has global experience with commercial vehicles in the fields of vehicle dynamics, driver assistance systems and brakes and steering. The takeover of the commercial vehicle steering business from Hitachi Automotive will expand Knorr-Bremse‘s steering system portfolio and further enhance Knorr-Bremse‘s future potential as a global supplier for driver assistance and highly automated driving solutions,” said Dr Peter Laier, member of the executive board of Knorr-Bremse AG responsible for the commercial vehicle systems division.

With this transaction, Knorr-Bremse is setting a further milestone to become a global supplier for CVS steering systems for RCB (recirculating ball) and TOS (torque overlay steering). In addition, Knorr-Bremse takes another step towards supplying its customers with highly integrated systems, as well as new functionalities in the field of driver assistance and automated driving. The acquisition will also give Knorr-Bremse better access to the Japanese and the Southeast Asian market.