Eaton Plans to Spin Off Mobility Group

Eaton has announced plans to spin off its Vehicle and eMobility business units, together known as the Mobility Group, into an independent company as part of its future growth plans.

This will be the third such company restructuring for Eaton; in 2020 it divested its Lighting business and in 2021 sold its Hydraulics business to Danfoss.

Eaton’s Mobility Group develops various technologies that create, distribute and optimize power for all types of vehicles and propulsion systems. These include transmissions and clutches for commercial truck applications in the Americas and high-voltage electric vehicle fuses and valve actuation technologies for use in all global markets.

According to Eaton, making the Mobility Group its own business will enable it to have more flexibility in pursuing near- and long-term growth opportunities in markets that include passenger vehicles; light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks; and off-highway vehicles such as construction and agricultural equipment.

The remaining Eaton business will be focused on its Electrical and Aerospace businesses. Per Eaton, it will now be better able to capitalize on demand it sees growing market areas such as data centers and utilities, as well as for Aerospace in the areas of defense and commercial aftermarket.

“The separation of Mobility advances Eaton’s bold new 2030 growth strategy to lead, invest, and execute for growth,” stated Paulo Ruiz, Eaton chief executive officer, in the company’s press release announcing the spin off. “Our team will have a sharpened focus on our core Electrical and Aerospace businesses, which are driven by powerful megatrends including in electrification, digitalization and AI (artificial intelligence), reindustrialization, infrastructure spending and growth in the aerospace aftermarket and defense demand.

“We are confident that Eaton is exceptionally well‑positioned to capitalize on opportunities to accelerate growth and margin expansion, and to create long‑term value for our shareholders,” he said.

Another Change in the Component Supplier Landscape 

Eaton’s announcement is the latest in a series of similar announcements we’ve seen over the past year related to companies divesting parts of their business which is bringing a number of changes to the fluid power and electromechanical technology supplier landscape.

In late 2024, drivetrain and propulsion technology developer Dana announced it would sell its off-highway business. A few months later, Allison Transmission announced its plans to purchase Dana’s off-highway business; the acquisition was completed January 5, 2026.

Dana chose to sell its off-highway business so it could better focus on serving customers in light and commercial vehicle applications. Mobile off-highway equipment applications such as agricultural machinery have experienced challenging market conditions over the past few years as high interest rates and other factors have kept machinery demand muted, impacting OEMs and their component suppliers like Dana. The company saw the opportunity to reduce operational costs and more narrowly focus its development efforts by selling the off-highway business.

Technology company Continental also announced in late 2024 plans to realign its business operations, starting with the spin off of its Automotive group sector. The company’s next step in this process is to sell its ContiTech business — which develops hydraulic hoses, air springs and other components for mobile and industrial applications — in 2026, making Continental AG a dedicated tire company.

Other recent examples include Danfoss Power Solutions acquiring Hydro Holding to expand its hose fittings offering, and Brennan Industries’ acquisition of Coterflex Industrial to increase its portfolio of hoses, fittings valves and other fluid power components.

Company divestitures, mergers and acquisitions are a common reality in the business world, but with markets and technological development areas continually evolving so too is the supplier landscape as companies look to find the opportunities which best fit their business and development expertise.

Read the below content for more insights on the impact mergers and acquisitions can have industries, including the fluid power and broader motion system technology sector.