Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.
Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.
Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.
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26<br />
to falling exports but also to significantly lower levels of<br />
investment activity in the Chinese business sector. One<br />
positive exception here was the Chinese bus market, driven<br />
upward by growing urbanization and the introduction<br />
of a new standard for school buses within China, as well<br />
as by rising exports.<br />
In this challenging market environment, <strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong><br />
was able to improve its position in the Chinese commercial<br />
vehicle market. After providing an extensive range of<br />
components for the H3 generation of trucks from Chinese<br />
manufacturer Foton, early in <strong>2012</strong> <strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong> began<br />
supplying initial pedal units, power clutches and handbrake<br />
valves for the manufacturer’s new H4 platform. Foton<br />
is building this heavy truck series for export to Europe<br />
and the Americas.<br />
The Indian commercial vehicle market was unable to<br />
maintain the growth of previous years. Owing to the<br />
fraught economic situation in the second half-year in particular,<br />
output of trucks (over 6 t) fell 16% to 256,000 units.<br />
In the Japanese commercial vehicle sector, by contrast,<br />
the pattern of growth continued, as truck production<br />
moved ahead 26% to 207,000 units. Including bus production,<br />
the number of commercial vehicles built in <strong>2012</strong><br />
rose by 21% compared to the previous year.<br />
To ensure a continuing appropriate response to the rapidly<br />
increasing importance of the Asia-Pacific region for<br />
both divisions of <strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong>, as well as to the specific<br />
requirements of their customers, <strong>2012</strong> saw the onset of<br />
preparations for the <strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong> Technology Center India<br />
− as a joint strategic initiative by <strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong> Rail<br />
Vehicle Systems and <strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong> Commercial Vehicle<br />
Systems. The Technology Center in Pune will enable<br />
<strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong> to recruit the qualified engineers who will<br />
take the Group’s product portfolio forward in close<br />
collaboration with the other R&D Centers of Competence<br />
around the world.<br />
Americas 24.9%<br />
Asia/Australia 24.4%<br />
Europe 50.7%<br />
Consolidated sales by region