Recaro’s future looked grim at best after the German brand best known for its seats filed for bankruptcy in July 2024. The company has seemingly been saved: It announced that an investment firm called Proma Group will take over its business and enable it to relaunch its operations across Europe in January 2025.
Italy-based Proma Group explained that it will keep “several employees” in Recaro Automotive’s sales and technology departments, which are both headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, to make the transition as seamless as possible. Seat production will soon shift from Germany to an undisclosed location in Italy, however. For context, Recaro employed about 215 workers across Germany before it filed for bankruptcy.
Starting in January 2025, Recaro will resume selling its line of aftermarket seats. The unnamed facility in Italy will begin manufacturing seats for OEMs, including Porsche, at about the same time. The bankruptcy sent a ripple effect across the industry: Ineos reportedly had to stop production of the Grenadier and the Quartermaster off-roaders earlier in 2024, because both models come standard with Recaro seats.
Recaro Automotive stresses that its operations in North America and Japan are not affected by the bankruptcy or by the change in ownership. Recaro Holding, whose job is to design and manufacture airplane seats and gaming chairs, among other products, is also not involved in the bankruptcy process.
