FEV expands expertise in global vehicle development

FEV acquires majority share in vehicle body system developer Imperia GmbH

Official contract signing: FEV acquired a majority interest in Imperia GmbH. (from left to right) Dr. Norbert Alt, Vice president of FEV, Sami Sagur, CFO and Executive Vice President of FEV Group (Holding GmbH), Prof. Dr. Stefan Pischinger, President & CEO FEV Group (Holding GmbH), Prof. Dr. Thilo Röth, Managing Director of Imperia GmbH, Gerhard von Kulmiz, Managing Director of Imperia GmbH (Source: FEV GmbH)

On November 1, 2016, global engineering services provider FEV acquired a majority interest in vehicle body system developer Imperia GmbH. Through this strategic expansion, FEV, a leading provider of vehicle technology engineering services, is expanding its expertise in the full vehicle development business segment. Imperia, headquartered in Aachen, Germany, develops innovative lightweight automotive solutions, ranging from individual components to the entire vehicle body.

“Automation, connectivity, and demand-driven mobility concepts with alternative drives will have long-term influence on the vehicle landscape and create new requirements for the future – with regard to driving behavior and NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness). Because of our extensive experience, we are in a position to assist our clients with the development of individual vehicle concepts, from the initial idea through series production,” explains Professor Stefan Pischinger, president and CEO of FEV. “With the integration of Imperia into the FEV Group, we are not only expanding our portfolio with innovative products, but we are also gaining important new employees with specific engineering know-how.”

"We are convinced that Imperia GmbH will be an important part of the FEV Group with its specialization in the development of vehicle bodies and forward-looking lightweight designs," adds Professor Thilo Roeth, managing director of Imperia GmbH. "We see ourselves as an ideal complement to FEV’s fields of expertise and look forward to jointly building the worldwide reputation of automotive engineering made in Aachen."

Imperia GmbH was founded in 1998. The engineering service provider for applied vehicle development has specialized in body development for shell structures as well as exterior and interior components. With innovative services as well as its own products, Imperia is already a well known company in the European automotive industry. In addition to forward-looking lightweight composite structures in multi-material construction, Imperia offers its modular body kit product “FlexBody” on the market. It was developed for industrial use in collaboration with industry partners RWTH Aachen, TU Braunschweig, and FH Aachen. “FlexBody” is a freely shaped body structure for small- to medium-series vehicle projects, particularly electric vehicles and sports cars. In this modular system, profiles and node structures are combined to form a holistic body design, thus enabling short development times and low costs. With “UrbE,” Imperia has already designed a fully electric urban vehicle in which, thanks to FlexBody, lightweight construction is implemented at a level normally associated with large-series production vehicles.