Financial Overview

(in million euros)

	FY2008	FY2007	Rate of change(%)	Factors
Sales	2,239.9	2,250.4	(0.5)	-
Exhaust Systems Division
Sales	1,926.5	1,913.8	0.7	1)
Vehicle Heaters Division
Sales	313.4	336.6	(6.9)	2)

Factor
1)
-In the Exhaust Technology Division, the Company generated sales of EUR 1,926.5 million in 2008, which equals an increase of 0.7% in comparison to the prior year. The development of revenue reflects quite clearly the general economic situation: until October the Company still easily met its budget targets. As of November, the volume of orders called by its customers fell significantly. All in all, its order backlog dropped by around 21% between October and December.

-From a regional perspective, the Company succeeded in achieving considerable growth in revenue, both in South Africa and in Germany, despite the slump in the fourth quarter. One benefit enjoyed in the past fiscal year was that the important new launches in 2007 made their contribution for the first full twelve-month period. Revenue fell in the rest of Europe. This was mainly due to the drop in the sales figures of British and French automobile manufacturers. Revenue also weakened in North America: The economic crisis took hold of the local passenger vehicle there much earlier than in Europe. Thanks to successful new launches in the passenger vehicle segment, the Company suffered only a minor drop in revenue in comparison to the rest of the industry.

2)
-Revenue in the Vehicle Heating Division amounted to EUR 313.4 million in 2008, i.e. down 6.9 % on the prior-year figure. Revenue developed very satisfactorily into the third quarter. Its revenue targets were clearly exceeded until September, which indicated a significant increase in comparison to 2007. The relatively low revenue in the months of November and December, which normally see exceedingly good revenue, led to revenue ultimately falling short of the prior-year level.


Acquisitions
-The Company has stocked up its share in the Herxheim-based catem holding company from 50 to 100 percent. With branches in Japan and Korea the catem group generates a turnover of about Euro 70 million with more than 300 employees. The core business of catem involves PTC heaters. (From a press release on Mar. 19, 2008)

-The Company has founded Eberspaecher Electronics GmbH und Co. KG with effect from June 1, 2008. The reason behind this is the takeover of the FlexRay / Automobile Bus Systems sub-division with 42 employees from Transferzentrum Mikroelektronik (TZM) in Goppingen, which belongs to Steinbeis GmbH & Co. KG. (From a press release on Jun 5, 2008)

R&D Expenditure

(in million euros)

	FY2008	FY2007	FY2006
Total	82.6	70.2	63.5
% of Sales	3.7%	3.1%	3.1%

R&D locations
-Esslingen (Germany), Unna (Germany), Novi (USA)


Activities by division
Exhaust Technology Division
-In 2008, the Exhaust Technology division's research and development activities concentrated on innovative exhaust gas after-treatment technologies for passenger and commercial vehicles with regard to the coming strict exhaust gas standards EPA 10 (USA) and EURO 6 (Europe). The focus in this context is on combined systems consisting of DPF (diesel particle filters) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction for removing nitrogen oxides). New mixers have been developed for improved urea processing in the SCR process. The Fuel Processor, which manages the entire thermal management in the exhaust gas system, and the ActiveSilence system, which uses silencer technology to both facilitate effective noise reduction and a distinctive sound design, were further refined. Similarly, work continued on promising ideas relating to the methods applied and the use of alternative materials.

Vehicle Heaters Division
-In the area of OEM passenger vehicles, the Hydronic II, which was launched at the end of 2007, has proven its operating reliability in series production. The burner concept involving a heated evaporator reduces the start-up time to under 25 seconds, which is a requirement specifically in the premium OEM segment. This makes it possible to employ the Hydronic II in vehicles applying the start-stop strategy as an auxiliary heater in addition to its use as a parking heater. The focal point of its research activities is currently on the development of a reformer and residual gas burner for a fuel cell. This technology developed as part of a research project is planned to go into series production at a later date for the purpose of onboard electricity generation, for commercial vehicles for example. In the area of Electrical Vehicle Heaters, development activities center on the development and refining of novel electrical water and air heaters. The aim is to provide innovative heating solutions, today and in the future, for lower emissions vehicles, for hybrid, electric and fuel cell powered vehicles.

-The Company is launching a new generation of vehicle heaters: the innovative Hydronic M II water heaters. The heaters - you can choose from eight-, ten- and twelve-kilowatt models - are suitable for trucks, medium-sized busses, up to construction machines and special or rail vehicles. A further plus point is that the range's service life has been doubled: from the previous 3000 hours to the new figure of 6000. (From a press release on Feb. 15, 2008)

Capital Expenditure

(in million euros)

	FY2008	FY2007	FY2006
Total	65	47	59

Investments outside Germany
<India>
-A new production site, with an attached resident engineering office has been established in Chakan in the vicinity of Pune.

<Japan, Korea>
-The Company is expanding its presence in Asia with sales and development offices in Japan and Korea.