Under Klein, ZF won new customers among established automakers and new entrants in China, ZF said, and was instrumental in positioning ZF as a systems, rather than components, supplier.
ZF is not publicly traded. The Zeppelin Foundation, which is administered by the city of Friedrichshafen, controls 94 percent of the company’s shares.
ZF, which generates about 27 percent of its business in North America, is forecasting sales of 40 billion euros ($40.1 billion) in 2022, with an adjusted EBIT margin of 4.5 to 5.5 percent. Free cash flow is predicted to be 1.5 billion to 2 billion euros.
A replacement has not been named yet for Sauer, 62, who joined ZF in 1990 and has been CFO since 2010.
Wilhelm will be replaced as head of commercial vehicles by Peter Laier, who until 2021 was head of commercial vehicles at supplier Knorr-Bremse.
ZF ranks No. 3 on the 2022 Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with worldwide sales to automakers of $39.3 billion in 2021.