Recaro to Supply Fiesta ST Seats; Eyeing North American Expansion

Recaro inks an agreement with Ford to produce sports seats for the upcoming ’14 Fiesta ST performance car, marking the latest move in the supplier’s plan to expand its North American business.

Markus Kussmaul, vice president-Recaro North and South America, says the German supplier already makes seats for the Focus ST. Recaro also produces seats for several special-edition Mustangs.

The agreement is the latest in a long partnership with Ford that dates back to the 1960s.

Kussmaul declines to reveal volume expectations for the Fiesta and Focus contracts, but says it likely will total fewer than 50,000 units globally. Fiesta ST Recaro seats will be available in gray, yellow and orange, while the Focus will offer black, red and blue.

Seats to be sold in North America will be assembled at Recaro’s Auburn Hills, MI, facility, and those for global markets will be built in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Although some parts are produced with automated equipment, much of the seating still is handmade, Kussmaul says.

“The sewing, assembly, and process to bring the seat to a high level of quality is all (done by hand),” he tells WardsAuto.

Recaro also supplies seats to General Motors for the Cadillac CTS-V and some Chevrolet Camaro derivatives, including the SS, VL1 and Z28.

Kussmaul says Recaro would like to expand its North American business, particularly in the U.S., beyond Ford and GM.

“We still have a way to go in the U.S.,” he says. “We’re a well-known brand in Europe; anybody who (purchases) sports cars knows who we are. We’re working in close contact with OEMs on initiatives.”

Overall volume-growth plans for North America present Recaro with a delicate balancing act. If the brand were to saturate the market, it would lose the cachet it has built up since starting as a producer of automotive bodies-in-white in the early 1900s.

“We’re not a mass-production company and won’t become one,” Kussmaul says, adding the supplier has no plans to offer low-cost seats. “We have to stay in the premium niche. But there’s still potential out there to grow with cars that fit our image.”

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