Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH, commonly known as Becker, is a manufacturer of automotive electronic equipment. It is part of the car division of the American manufacturing company, Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of South Korean company Samsung Electronics.
The present company goes back to the German car radio and navigation systems manufacturer, Becker. This firm was founded in 1949 from a repair workshop in the Baden town of Pforzheim. Its founder was Max Egon Becker [de] (died 1983). In 1953 the first car radio with automatic search for stations was launched. In 1955 Becker started manufacturing aircraft radios. In 1987 Boris Becker launched a CD car receiver. In 1995, the US concern, Harman International, took over the firm (apart from the aircraft avionics division, Becker Flugfunkwerke GmbH (later Becker Avionics, which as of 2016 remained under the control of Roland Becker, the son of the founder)).At the time Becker had 1,300 employees and two plants.
The company, with its head office in Karlsbad near Karlsruhe and other bases in the USA and Hungary, developed and integrated complete infotainment systems worldwide. Its product range runs from navigation systems, voice control and human-machine interfaces to audio and entertainment technologies. From its earliest days, Harman Becker Automotive Systems was a supplier to Mercedes-Benz,but also supplies other marques such as Audi, Peugeot, Hyundai and also Luxury Marques Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mini. Worldwide, Harman Becker has 28 bases in Germany, USA, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Hungary, Canada, Mexico, South Africa (to 2008), Japan, South Korea and China. Since 11 January 2010 Harman Becker Automotive Systems has pulled out of the market for mobile navigation. The trademarks Becker Traffic Assist, Becker Traffic Assist Pro etc. were transferred to United Navigation. Under the latter’s roof, the brands Falk and Becker continue to run.
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