Schaeffler Cuts 2028 Revenue Targets as E-Mobility Order Book Shrinks

Schaeffler Trims 2028 Sales Ambitions as E-Mobility Orders Shrink

German automotive supplier Schaeffler has cut its medium-term revenue targets for 2028, citing sharply lower market expectations for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. The MDAX-listed company now expects group sales of €24bn to €26bn, down from the €27bn to €29bn range it presented at its capital markets day in September 2025.

The largest revision hits the E-Mobility division. Schaeffler now targets E-Mobility sales of €6.25bn to €7.25bn for 2028, compared with €8.25bn to €9bn previously, after its order book shrank. The division's expected operating margin was also lowered to between minus 4% and 0%, from an earlier ambition of at least breaking even, pushing the path to profitability further out.

Despite the weaker sales outlook, Schaeffler has kept its group-level targets for adjusted EBIT margin of 6% to 8% and adjusted free cash flow of €400m to €600m. Margins in the industrial Bearings & Industrial Solutions unit remain at 9% to 11%, while targets for Powertrain & Chassis and Vehicle Lifetime Solutions were each raised by half a percentage point.

The market reaction was sharp: Schaeffler's shares fell more than 14% after the announcement, with the article citing €6.50 as a possible support level.

Why Schaeffler Kept Its Profit Target While Cutting Growth Hopes

A Pivot From Growth to Efficiency

By cutting revenue targets while holding the group adjusted EBIT margin at 6% to 8% and free cash flow at €400m to €600m, Schaeffler is signalling that it now expects profitability to come from cost discipline rather than volume expansion. The article suggests the company is deliberately rebalancing toward its higher-margin businesses: industrial bearings, powertrain and chassis, and vehicle lifetime solutions, where margin targets were raised or kept stable.

E-Mobility Remains the Weak Point

The steepest adjustment is in E-Mobility, where the 2028 sales target drops by roughly €2bn and the margin range turns negative. Although management said reaching breakeven is still the stated goal, the revised guidance implies that the division's order book is not large enough to support the original plans. This is likely to delay any group-level benefit from the EV ramp-up and raises questions about how quickly Schaeffler can convert its technology position into profitable volume.

Investors Punished the Reversal

A decline of more than 14% in the share price suggests that the market saw the guidance change as a meaningful setback, especially since it comes only about ten months after the capital markets day in September 2025. The €6.50 support level mentioned in the article is a technical observation, not a company promise; whether it holds will depend on whether future quarterly figures show order intake stabilising and margins moving toward the announced ranges.

What Schaeffler's Revised 2028 Targets Mean for Investors and Suppliers

For investors, the key question is whether Schaeffler can defend its group margin target while E-Mobility runs at a loss. Watch the next quarterly report for order intake in E-Mobility and margin delivery in Powertrain & Chassis and Vehicle Lifetime Solutions, where targets were raised by half a percentage point.

• Treat the 2028 revenue range of €24bn to €26bn as management's current base case, but note that it depends on passenger-car and light-commercial-vehicle markets recovering from today's lower expectations.
• The €6.50 level cited after the 14% share drop is a technical observation, not a company-backed floor; investors should weigh the uncertainty in the E-Mobility margin outlook.
• For suppliers and OEM customers, expect Schaeffler to be more conservative on E-Mobility capacity and investment plans; procurement discussions should be based on the lower volume outlook rather than the original targets.