AVL DiTEST achieves record turnover: E-mobility and emission testing on the road to success

GRAZ/CADOLZBURG – The AVL DiTEST Group enjoyed a successful financial year in 2018, posting record sales with a consolidated turnover of 57 million euros. Major e-mobility orders and the expansion of the emissions measurement technology business field have each contributed to the growth of AVL DiTEST as a specialist in automotive testing and measurement technology.

The AVL DiTEST Group increased its sales by 28 percent with a consolidated turnover of 57 million euros, thereby breaking its turnover record. Gerald Lackner, CEO of AVL DiTEST, had already been anticipating this positive development the year before and had put forward a suitably ambitious plan. He was delighted with the outstanding result, which significantly exceeded the planned target: "The business areas of tomorrow, such as e-mobility, are constantly growing. You can see this in our sales figures, too. We were also able to win valuable new market shares in the field of emissions measurement." This rise in the area of emissions is due to stricter legislation in Germany. Alongside this, the Graz-based specialist for automotive testing and measurement technology is implementing diagnostics solutions for e-mobility as well as OEM equipment for the workshops of big-name vehicle manufacturers such as KTM and Jaguar Land Rover.

Award-winning innovation
"Research and development are an inherent part of our strategy and are what drives our success," explains Lackner. The company's team successfully demonstrated their innovative edge at Automechanika 2018, the leading international trade fair for the automotive aftermarket, with over 5000 exhibitors and 135,000 visitors from 184 countries. At the fair, five developments were honoured with the coveted Innovation Award, and of these AVL DiTEST won in two categories. No other company has achieved such success before. One of these solutions was the ACAM, an acoustic camera for visualising noises inside the car. It impressed the expert jury and customers in equal measure, underlining the high level of innovation from AVL DiTEST.

The road to success and beyond
"It will be difficult to beat this remarkable turnover record for 2018. Nevertheless, we are counting on a slight increase in turnover in 2019, too," predicts Lackner. He continues: "In the coming years, the topic of emissions measurement will continue to play a key role. Measurement of the number of particles is expected to be mandatory as of 2021 in Europe. This is expected to generate considerable sales." As a result, new methods for better testing of emissions values are just as important in terms of research topics as testing and diagnostics solutions for e-mobility.

In addition to its headquarters in Graz, AVL DiTEST has a subsidiary company in Cadolzburg, Germany, and another in China. Its customers include independent workshops and testing organisations such as Dekra and TÜV, as well as major international vehicle manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler Group, Jaguar Land Rover, KTM, and the VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, MAN and Scania marques from the Volkswagen Group. In 2018, AVL DiTEST employed 281 people, 142 of whom work at the headquarters in Graz.