Nanterre / Tokyo, April 19, 2012
Faurecia and Howa Textile sign joint-venture agreement for vehicle interiors
Building on its growing global business with Japanese automakers, in particular with Nissan, Faurecia - the world's N°1 supplier of vehicle interior systems - today announced that it has signed a new 50/50 joint-venture agreement with Howa Textile Industry Co., Ltd. The new joint-venture - Faurecia Howa Interiors (FHI) - will be based in Atsugi (Japan) and will be dedicated to the development of vehicle interior systems such as door panels, in-vehicle insulation, soft trim and roof trim.
The objective of the partnership is to become a preferred Nissan supplier in Japan for door panels and soft trims and boost efforts to provide joint support from Faurecia and Howa to Nissan on a truly global basis. The partners have agreed to split manufacturing among their respective plants on a global basis, with the exception of Mexico and China, where FHI intends to set-up its own joint manufacturing units.
Specifically, FHI will support manufacturing activity in the following regions and countries: North America (Mexico, USA), Europe (UK, Russia and Spain), Asia (Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand), South America (Argentina and Brazil) as well as in South Africa. Based on current assumptions, FHI targets €100 million Nissan sales by its parent companies by 2016. First business awards have already been booked for a new global vehicle to be assembled at five different locations in Mexico, Thailand, South Africa, Spain and South America. Total targeted production of this new vehicle is expected to exceed 400,000 units per year.
"Faurecia's interior systems business is expected to grow substantially with Nissan over the coming years, thanks to this new partnership with Howa Textile, a key established Japanese partner. Faurecia Howa Interiors will be targeting new Nissan 'Power 88' opportunities in global automotive markets," said Yann Delabrière, Chairman and CEO of Faurecia. "With this new agreement, our global Nissan business relationship is reaching new heights."
"I expect that the business alliance between Faurecia, with its proven global track record, and Howa Textile, which has extensive experience and proven business results with Japanese customers, will strongly support the expansion of both companies' business with Nissan." said Akiyori Shibuya, Representative Director of Howa Textile Industry Co., Ltd.
Howa Textile Industry Co., Ltd., founded in March 1955, is a privately-held Japanese company specialized in vehicle interior systems such as soft-trim, hard-trim, and acoustics supplied to a broad range of Japanese car makers.
Note to Editors: Faurecia to accelerate Asian operations
Faurecia recently announced the broadening of its existing joint-venture agreement with Japanese automotive supplier NHK Spring for the delivery of automotive seating solutions to Nissan.
Within the frame of its 2015 strategic plan, Faurecia is aiming at more than doubling its Asian business (over 2011 sales) with total sales expected to grow from €1.5 billion to € 4 billion by 2015. This target is expected to be reached mainly through sustained growth in China, in South Korea and with Asian carmakers globally, among which Nissan will be at the core.
In China, Faurecia's largest priority market in the region, the strategy to focus on international JVs and global platforms is being supplemented by new business opportunities with selected Chinese "own brand" automakers. The existing partnership with Geely/Volvo is a top priority, while other targets are being actively pursued. The Group aims to reach total sales of € 2.5 billion in China with 50 plants, four wholly-owned R&D centers and some 15,000 employees.
In South Korea, with Hyundai-Kia top on the list, Faurecia is currently expanding beyond its established Emissions Control Technologies business to develop in the interior systems and automotive seating fields, where the Group's technology leadership is expected to make the difference.
About Faurecia
Faurecia is the world's sixth-largest automotive equipment supplier with four key Business Groups: Automotive Seating, Emissions Control Technologies, Interior Systems and Automotive Exteriors. In 2011, the Group posted total sales of €16.2 billion. At December 31, 2011, Faurecia employed 84,000 people in 33 countries at 270 sites and 40 R&D centers. Faurecia is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris stock exchange. For more information, visit: www.faurecia.com
Contacts:
Olivier Le Friec
Head of Media Relations
Tel: +33 (0)1 72 36 72 58
Mob: +33 (0)6 76 87 30 17
