NANTERRE, France and
SHANGHAI, March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Faurecia, one
of the world's leading automotive equipment suppliers, and Dongfeng
Hongtai, a majority-owned subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor Corporation,
one of China's largest automobile
groups, have signed on March 27, 2015
a broad partnership agreement through the creation of a
joint-venture. This joint venture will serve Dongfeng and its
automotive partners for passenger and commercial vehicles and, when
fully deployed, will cover all of Faurecia's businesses. The
objective of the two partners is that annual sales for this joint
venture will reach around 2 billion
euros in the medium term.
The first step of the joint venture, for which registration
should be completed by the end of May
2015, covers the development, manufacturing and delivery of
automotive interior and exterior components. The joint venture has
already been awarded important business from Dongfeng Peugeot
Citroen Automobile (DPCA) for their vehicles to be built in
Chengdu (Sichuan province).
In the course near future, the partnership will be extended to
include automotive seating and emissions control technologies. It
will develop its footprint in all regions of China where Dongfeng and its automotive
partners are present. A new research and development center will be
established in Wuhan (Hubei province) supporting the joint venture
in product and program development, testing and validation.
Faurecia and Dongfeng have agreed on a governance and general
management scheme allowing Faurecia to fully consolidate the
business of the joint-venture. Initially, the exterior business
will be consolidated by Faurecia on an equity basis.
"This new joint-venture agreement with Dongfeng represents a
major step forward in Faurecia's relationships with its Chinese
customers. We will support Dongfeng and its partners in their
development of strong automotive brands with leading-edge vehicle
technologies and expertise. Faurecia has grown extremely rapidly in
China and has doubled its sales
over the past three years, significantly outperforming the growth
of the Chinese automotive market. This new partnership with
Dongfeng Motor Corporation, which is complementary to the existing
cooperation with Chang'an Automobile Group implemented in 2013,
will contribute to the steady and profitable growth of Faurecia in
China", said Yann Delabriere,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Faurecia.
Faurecia has been operating in China for over 20 years and has developed fast
within China's booming automotive
industry and considers the Chinese market a major priority. It
currently employs 12,000 people, including 800 engineers, and is
present in all the main automotive regions in China. In 2014, sales in China have reached 2.23
billion euros, up 20% compared to 2013, outperforming local
vehicle production growth. The Group now operates 38 factories as
well as three R&D centers, and targets the operation of 55
plants by 2018. Faurecia expects to more than double its annual
sales in China by 2018 to reach
over 4 billion euros.
Dongfeng Motor Corporation, founded in 1969 and one of
China's top three automobile
groups, has built various production bases in Shiyan, Xiangyang,
Wuhan, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Liuzhou, Hangzhou, Yancheng etc. with main businesses
including full series of passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles,
automotive components, automotive equipment and automotive
financial services. While developing its own brand, Dongfeng Motor
Corporation has built intensive cooperation with global well-known
automakers, such as PSA Peugeot Citroen, Nissan, Honda, Renault,
Kia and Yulong. In 2014, Dongfeng sold a total of 3.8 million
vehicles, ranking second in the Chinese auto industry.
About Faurecia
Faurecia is one of the world's largest
automotive equipment suppliers with four Business Groups:
Automotive Seating, Emissions Control Technologies, Interior
Systems and Automotive Exteriors. In 2014, the Group posted total
sales of €18.8 billion. At December 31,
2014, Faurecia employed 100,000 people in 34 countries at
330 sites and 30 R&D centers. Faurecia is listed on the NYSE
Euronext Paris stock exchange and trades in the U.S.
over-the-counter (OTC) market. For more information, visit:
www.faurecia.com
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SOURCE Faurecia
