The Engineering Campus would be one of the only sites in the automotive engineering industry in which complete vehicle development and testing as well as powertrain engineering, testing and validation are combined under one roof. It would involve the integration of up to 2,000 colleagues from Opel’s current Engineering Center in Rüsselsheim into Segula. The creation of an engineering hub would drive innovation in the automotive sector and open up important growth opportunities to the benefit of the teams in Rüsselsheim and Dudenhofen. Talks with the social partners on further details of the partnership will continue.

Dr Martin Lange, Managing Director, SEGULA Technologies Germany, said: “This strategic partnership is good news for the global automotive engineering industry since it will contribute to market dynamics. We want to combine the superior know-how of the Opel and Segula engineers. The partnership will benefit both Segula and the Opel colleagues whom we are delighted to welcome on board. First, we aim to secure stability for those joining by upholding the job guarantees agreed by Opel until July 2023. Then the partnership will allow us to open up new career opportunities for the colleagues joining us and to grow our team further by diversifying our customer base.”

In addition to its leading position amongst French car manufacturers, Segula is already present in Germany where it provides car manufacturers and their tier-one suppliers with product and process development across the field of body components. Segula also serves Germany’s industrial vehicle and rail industry as well as other sectors. The Engineering Campus would support Segula’s strategic goal of becoming one of the world’s leading engineering groups by 2023, and further reinforce the group’s footprint in Germany, one of its core growth markets.

The global automotive engineering services market is set to exceed €18bn in 2023. Germany is expected to continue to account for the largest share of the market – one third – and is expected to record an increase from €4bn to €6bn in this time frame[1]. The new partnership would enable Segula to tap into this increasing demand for development services by combining its innovative strength with the experience and expertise of the colleagues coming on board.

Rüsselsheim and Dudenhofen should also benefit significantly from the Engineering Campus: it would boost the regions’ economic dynamism by securing the utilization of Opel’s remaining operations at its Engineering Center in Rüsselsheim and potentially attracting further companies across a range of industrial sectors.

The closing of this transaction is expected in the second quarter of 2019. Both parties have agreed not to disclose further details of the partnership agreement.

[1] Source: Berylls Strategy Advisors: ESP Market Overview (as of: July 2018)