As part of a two-day trip to China, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, accompanied by a top-level German business delegation, visited the new location of automotive supplier Webasto in the city of Wuhan (Hubei Province). Together with the Mayor of the city, Xianwang Zhou, and Dr. Holger Engelmann, Chairman of the Management Board, Webasto SE, Merkel gave the starting sign for the production of roof systems, high-voltage heaters and charging solutions in what is now the company's largest plant on September 7, 2019.

After the opening ceremony, the Chancellor was given a guided tour to gain an insight into the German automotive supplier’s development and production processes as well as its strategic further development. Engelmann stated: “Webasto has been the market leader for sunroofs and panorama roofs in China for years – and worldwide. Since we have reached the limits of our capacity at our old plant in Wuhan and expect further growth, we have invested about 50 million euros in a new location. It is also the first Chinese Webasto plant in which we will produce solutions for the electromobility in addition to roof systems. We see very good opportunities to establish ourselves as an innovative systems partner to the automotive industry in China in this area as well”.