Legendary German car seat manufacturer Recaro Cars filed for bankruptcy, was declared insolvent, and was approved for self-administration by the local district court, Car report. The car seat production arm of Recaro (the airplane seatchild safety seats and gaming chair businesses remain unaffected) has been in operation since 1906. The company changed hands in 2020, currently controlled by investment firm Raven Acquisitionsand it took just four years to fully feed itself from the inside.
Car It also pointed out that employees of the seating giant were not informed that the company was filing for bankruptcy. The union that 215 Recaro employees belong to, IG Metall, has said the way forward is unclear and has called for transparency from management, but this has not happened.
Recaro is considered a Tier 1 supplier to the automotive industry, manufacturing seats for popular sports cars from Porsche, Ford, Volkswagen, Subaru, Toyota, Aston Martin, and many others. The company is synonymous with sports seats in sports cars, and “owning a Recaro” is a popular option for many new car buyers. It’s unclear where manufacturers will get their OEM-grade sports seats if Recaro no longer exists.
In 1906, master saddler Wilhelm Reutter began developing bodies and interiors for the fledgling German auto industry, starting the Stuttgarter Carrosserie und Radfabrik body factory. The company later changed its name to Reutter Karosserie, producing bodies for Porsche and Volkswagen, among others. Porsche later acquired Karosserie to produce its own bodies, spinning off the interiors business as Recaro (re from Reutter and checkerboard from Karosserie) in the 1960s.
Even outside of OEM applications, Recaro is still considered the preferred supplier of racing seats on just about every track in the world. The company is a household name, even outside the automotive and racing communities. It’s amazing how quickly a brand with such a rich history could be driven to the ground. At least the landing will be safe, thanks to Recaro seats.
