The increase in sales is driven by the Mechatronics and Aftermarket divisions. The former continued to grow and raised sales to €1,141 million (up 5 percent). The Aftermarket division generated sales of €225 million (up 4 percent). Currently weak demand for large-bore pistons and the ongoing sharp decline in auto production in Brazil depressed sales by Hardparts from €727 million in 2015 to €699 million.
Not included in the sales figures of the Automotive sector are the joint ventures in China, which in the course of 3Q/2016 boosted sales by 6 percent from €587 million to €620 million. The wholly owned subsidiaries in China stepped up their sales by 16 percent to €74 million.
For all of 2016, Rheinmetall Automotive is re-affirming its sales forecast of around €2.7 billion. In addition, the Company expects profitability to remain on a stable trend, with an operating margin of around 8 percent.