A Close Look at an Auto Parts Giant's 2025 Financial Report: Profit Bleeding, Business Restructuring

Global suppliers face profit hemorrhage as China emerges as refuge

The 2025 financials from the world’s largest auto‑parts groups show a striking split: record revenues in some cases, but collapsing profits and widescale restructuring across the board. Who is surviving the shift to electrification and software‑defined vehicles? Short answer: not the old, integrated giants — unless they radically slim down or lean on China. Aptiv (安波福), Bosch (博世), Continental (大陆集团) and ZF (采埃孚) all reported painful results that underscore the industry’s “mid‑transition” squeeze, while China‑based suppliers with EV and smart‑cockpit strengths surged.

Numbers and the pain points

Aptiv posted a record $20.4 billion in sales for 2025 but GAAP net income plunged 91% to $165 million — a stark example of “more revenue, less profit” as legacy wiring‑harness businesses are squeezed by high raw‑material and labor costs and low margins. Bosch reported €91.0 billion in sales but an operating margin of just 1.8% after booking €3.1 billion in restructuring reserves. Continental’s revenue slipped to roughly €41.9 billion and ZF’s to €38.8 billion; Forvia (佛瑞亚), the Faurecia+Hella successor, booked heavy impairment and restructuring charges. Schaeffler (舍弗勒) and SKF (斯凯孚) remained in loss or restructuring mode. The common theme: combustion‑engine parts decline faster than new‑business profits materialize.

Splits, carve‑outs and semiconductor bets

Faced with that squeeze, the answer has been radical portfolio surgery. Companies are spinning off, selling low‑margin units and refocusing capital on software, electrification and semiconductors. Continental has moved to separate and list its automotive business; Aptiv is accelerating divestiture of its wiring‑harness operations; Forvia is cutting assets to reduce debt. Japanese supplier Denso (电装) has pushed its semiconductor strategy aggressively — it has been reported that Denso made a takeover offer for Japan’s ROHM worth as much as ¥1.3 trillion — a sign of how geopolitics and export‑control pressures are driving vertical integration and M&A in chip supply chains.

China’s winners and the geopolitical angle

Meanwhile, China‑based suppliers are the standout winners. Contemporary Amperex Technology (宁德时代, CATL) posted RMB 423.7 billion in revenue and a 42% jump in net profit to RMB 72.2 billion, strengthening its dominant global battery share. Desay SV (德赛西威) grew revenue and profit in double digits and expanded smart‑cockpit and AD business tied to local EV makers and NVIDIA platforms. For global suppliers, China is increasingly a “safe harbor” — Bosch’s China revenue of RMB 149.8 billion was a key cushion in 2025. With Western trade policy, export controls on advanced chips and a pivot in global OEM sourcing, the supply‑chain center of gravity is shifting east. The winners will be those that root themselves in China and master EV and software platforms — the rest will keep cutting, splitting and hoping for a turnaround.