There were significant regional disparities in terms of sales in 2020. There was a downturn in sales in the European Union, which has traditionally been the Group’s strongest sales region. This was primarily due to declining sales in Germany and France; by contrast, business grew in Austria and Poland. Sales in non-EU countries fell as well. The Group also saw a decline in sales in North America, as well as in Central and South America, Africa and the Near and Middle East, all of which reported significantly lower sales than the year before. Meanwhile, business was stable throughout the year in Asia and Oceania. This was thanks largely to strong demand from China and Australia.

Although the global economy had already begun to slow down modestly towards the end of 2019, Liebherr still closed out the year with a strong volume of orders which continued into the first quarter of 2020. Starting at the end of the first quarter, however, the corona pandemic began to affect business activities in many markets. This also had an impact on the Group’s sales. With the exception of Refrigeration and Freezing, every product segment experienced a decline in sales. Sales in construction and mining machines reached € 6,848 million, 10.4 % lower than in the previous year. This includes the Earthmoving, Material Handling Technology, Deep Foundation Machines, Mobile and Crawler Cranes, Tower Cranes, Concrete Technology and Mining product segments.

The other product segments, including Maritime Cranes, Aerospace and Transportation Systems, Gear Technology and Automation Systems, Refrigeration and Freezing, Components and Hotels, achieved total sales of € 3,493 million, a 15 % decrease compared to the previous year.

At the end of 2020, the Group employed 47,925 people worldwide. Despite a notable decline in sales, the number of employees decreased only slightly by 124, or 0.3 %, compared to the previous year. The number of employees rose in Europe, Asia and Oceania. Meanwhile, there was a decrease in the number of Liebherr employees in North America, Central and South America, Africa and the Near and Middle East.