Wabco car systems manufacturer moves HQ to Switzerland

Car systems manufacturer Wabco Automotive has opted to move its global headquarters from Brussels to the Swiss capital, Bern. The company has plans to set up a competence centre in autonomous driving in collaboration with Swiss universities.

“Switzerland is world-renowned for providing a highly favorable environment for breakthrough innovations and offers many distinct advantages for corporate headquarters,” said chairman and CEO Jacques Esculier in a statement on Friday.

The company, which had 16,000 employees and sales of $3.8 billion (CHF3.8 billion) at the end of last year, is one of the world’s leading supplier of braking systems and safety applications for commercial vehicles.

Last September the New York Stock Exchange-listed Wabco announced it will add autonomous driving systems to its portfolio of products.

The company will initially transfer 40 top managers to its new Bern HQ but aims to build up its research into autonomous driving systems in the region. A spokesman from Bern’s business development agency said the centre could eventually employ up to 200 people.

The company’s old Brussels HQ will in future house its newly formed Europe, Middle East and Africa division.