Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 16

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

QA

SUPPLIERS

Faurecia reconfirms
2016 sales goal

CEO expects more business with Ford; strong uptake for carbon fiber

F

aurecia is using its global reach and
technology to expand its offerings and sales. The French supplier is
producing exterior components made
of carbon fiber, and it has developed a
thin-profile seat to reduce weight and
bulk. In an interview last month at the
Detroit auto show, CEO Yann Delabriere,
discussed his plans for the company
with Special Correspondent David
Sedgwick and News Editor Charles
Child of Automotive News Europe sister
publication Automotive News.
Faurecia has said it wants to increase global revenue to 22 billion
euros by 2016, up from 17.4 billion
euros in 2012. Is that still the plan?
Yes, that is still the target.
A year ago, Faurecia said it would
spend 2.3 billion euros on capital
expenditures through 2015. Are
you cutting capital expenditures to
save money?
We are going to be more selective with
our growth strategy. We will reduce
our capital expenditures to 500 million
euros per year.
Who are your biggest customers?
Volkswagen [Group] will remain our largest global client, with over 25 percent of
our business. Beyond that, we have three
customers ranging from 10 percent to
15 percent: PSA, Ford and Renault-Nissan. With our acquisition of Ford’s Saline
plant last year, Ford may be our secondlargest customer in 2013.
You’re developing components made
of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
It is emerging as a new field, which is a
bit longer term.
But you’ve had some success. Faurecia produced the Audi RS Sportback’s front fenders, which are made
of the material.
The first phase is to replace steel with
plastic body parts. Perhaps more interesting, in the long run we can replace chassis
components and structural parts.

16

www.autonewseurope.com

Can you give some examples?
[You can design carbon fiber] floors, the
firewall and the trunk floor. But it’s not
possible in the front of the car, where
you have the crush zone. Carbon fiber
is not good at absorbing shock. It has a
lot of resistance, but it doesn’t absorb
energy. It breaks.
What are you doing to expand your
carbon fiber business?
Last year, we acquired Sora Composites, a small company that specializes in this business. It sells mostly to
companies like Aston Martin, where low
volume and high cost are not a problem.
At the Los Angeles auto show, Faurecia displayed a light thin-profile seat
called Urban Rhythm. What makes
it special?
The idea is to replace the traditional foam
pad with a structure that is much thinner.
You would have the same functionality in
terms of shock absorption and occupant
safety. [Thin-profile seats] would allow the
carmaker to shrink the chassis but offer
the same interior room for the passenger.
And you can use the same seat
frame for Urban Rhythm and conventional seats?
We can use our conventional seat frame.
Automakers would like that because
seat frames are expensive.
A seat frame is typically half the value
of the seat.
When will automakers adopt thinprofile seats?
It may happen in the second half of the
decade.
In what type of car do you expect it?
I would expect it in a sports car. It’s
pretty effective for a vehicle where you
want to have an innovative design.
Is it true that automakers no longer
buy complete seats? Instead, they
submit one purchase order for all the
seat frames, one for foam, one for

Meet the boss
❚ NAME: Yann Delabriere
❚ TITLE: Faurecia CEO
❚ AGE: 62
❚ BASED: Paris
❚ NATIONALITY: French
❚ MAIN CHALLENGES: Maintain

profitability despite a big slowdown in
European vehicle production.

seat motors, and so on.
That is certainly an important trend.
They want to get economies of scale by
commonizing components. Today, most
automakers have two to four seat frames
across their entire range of vehicles.
There are very few automakers that have
not yet entered into this decision.
So they standardize the seat frames
and accessories?
The components that might be commonized are accessories like the headrests and armrests. You can use exactly
the same armrest for different cars.

FEBRUARY 2013


http://www.autonewseurope.com

Automotive News Europe - February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Europe - February 2013

Automotive News Europe - February 2013
Contents
Van wars
A-OK in the USA
Moving metal
Cutting edge
New arrivals
Unplugged
Home away from home
Hard-hit Honda
Click a mouse, buy a car
Better days
Target in sight
Cutaway
Europe’s big winners
ACEA sales 2012
European sales by model
Russia sales 2012
U.S. sales hit their stride
U.S. sales by model
Global top 25 markets & brands
Shareholder value
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Intro
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Automotive News Europe - February 2013
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Cover2
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Contents
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Van wars
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 5
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 6
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - A-OK in the USA
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Moving metal
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Cutting edge
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - New arrivals
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Unplugged
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Home away from home
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Hard-hit Honda
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Click a mouse, buy a car
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Better days
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Target in sight
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Cutaway
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Europe’s big winners
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - ACEA sales 2012
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - European sales by model
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 21
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 22
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Russia sales 2012
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 24
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 25
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - U.S. sales hit their stride
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - U.S. sales by model
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 28
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - 29
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Global top 25 markets & brands
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Shareholder value
Automotive News Europe - February 2013 - Cover4
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