Johnson Controls (JCI, Milwaukee, Wisconsin / USA; www.johnsoncontrols.com) is in the process of evaluating strategic alternatives for its Power Solutions battery business. Chairman and CEO George Oliver says the company will assess which option creates the best long-term results for the business and the most value for shareholders. He does not say what the solution for the division will look like. Johnson Controls expects the assessment of strategic alternatives to be completed within the next several months.

Following the sale of business segments such as Automotive Experience, which concentrated on seats and interior trim, Johnson Controls now stands on the two pillars, Buildings and Batteries. With around 15,000 employees, the latter posted sales in 2017 of USD 7.3 bn (EUR 5.9 bn) and EBITDA of USD 1.4 bn. Building technology, which the company aims to focus on in future, is more than three times bigger with sales of USD 22.8 bn, and a much lower EBITDA margin of 12%.

In 2015, Johnson Controls made a considerable investment in its car battery production plants in Germany, the US and China – see Plasteurope.com of 22.09.2015. At the 2015 international motor show “IAA” in Frankfurt / Germany, a company representative said, “Everyone is talking about electric and hybrid cars, but 'start-stop' will win this race.” She added that the other types of vehicles are only expected to reach the necessary economies of scale after 2025 – see Plasteurope.com of 21.09.2015. This appraisal has evidently been revised with the subsequent scandal over the manipulation of diesel emission figures.