Rheinmetall announced on 1 February 2024 that it is taking up a majority share in Romanian vehicle maker Automecanica Mediaș.
The acquisition deepens the Düsseldorf-based technology enterprise’s footprint in Central Europe, “opening the door to new customer countries in the region with substantial sales potential”, the company stated in a press release.
Rheinmetall already has locations in two other countries in eastern Europe: Hungary and Lithuania. In December 2023, moreover, Romania awarded Rheinmetall a major air defence order worth EUR 328 million.
Through Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, the Rheinmetall Group will hold a 72.5% stake in the Automecanica Mediaș, which will operate in Romania under the name Rheinmetall Automecanica SRL. The remaining shares in the company will stay in private hands. The contractual agreement still requires approval by the relevant government authorities before it takes effect.
Over the medium term Rheinmetall puts the annual sales potential of the newly acquired company at around EUR 300 million and expects incoming orders in the current financial year to be in three-digit million-euro range.
“Bringing Automecanica Mediaș into the Rheinmetall family marks another important milestone in our strategy of strengthening the group’s presence in Central Europe, which in turn contributes to bolstering the defensive capabilities of the EU and NATO on Europe’s eastern flank,” Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger was quoted as saying in a company press release. “We look forward to supporting Romania in future projects in the vehicle domain as well as with other Rheinmetall technologies. Here, the inclusion of local partners and strengthening the Romanian economy are matters of central concern to us. We want to meet the expectations of Romania’s politicians and military in the best possible way.”
Automecanica Mediaș is a longstanding maker of specialist vehicles, truck build-ons and trailers for both the civilian and military markets. Rheinmetall has been co-operating with Automecanica since 2022, when the two partners joined forces to operate a maintenance and repair facility for military vehicles in Satu Mare, Romania.
The plant in Mediaș, Romania, is poised to play a key role in maintaining the operational readiness of Western-built combat vehicles in Ukraine, as well as assuring logistical support. Rheinmetall’s presence in Romania means that NATO forces deployed in Eastern Europe will be able to count on shorter response times and more robust supply chains.
The acquisition constitutes a further expansion of Rheinmetall’s global vehicle production network, which already includes plants in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands and Germany.
As well as significantly expanding the group’s production and maintenance capacity, the move adds to its current portfolio of military vehicles. Truck build-ons, trailers and other special vehicles developed and produced by Automecanica augment and complement Rheinmetall’s existing range of military trucks: a domain in which Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) is a major force in world markets.
