Valeo, a global leader in automotive technology and innovation renowned for its commitment to sustainable mobility, is planning to expand its manufacturing facilities and aftermarket operations. At its global technical center Valeo plans to increase its talent pool by 3000 in the Chennai region in the next five years, the company said in a media release.
Manufacturing & Aftermarket: Valeo is committed to manufacturing excellence setting benchmarks for quality, reliability, and technological advancement within the automotive sector. To meet the growing demand, Valeo will increase its workforce in its state-of-the-art production facilities in Tamil Nadu both for expansion of its current product portfolio as well as new technologies.
Valeo’s aftermarket operations will witness substantial growth through expanded distribution networks and service centers in Tamil Nadu. This expansion aims to provide enhanced accessibility to Valeo’s top-tier automotive products and services, catering to the needs of a wider customer base across the region.
Global Technical Center: The cutting-edge Global Technical Center in Chennai serves as a hub for research, development and innovation and brings together over 3700 top engineering talent from across India. It is expanding rapidly to meet Valeo’s ambitious growth plans especially in the Electronics and Software domains.
Over the past few years Valeo has increased its investment significantly in establishing state-of-the-art labs and protoshops and this center now has world-class lab facilities for Automotive Test and Validation. R&D engineers from India have contributed to more than 365 patent first filings to date and the number continues to grow, the company release said.
As mobility is becoming more electric and more connected, Valeo offers solutions to support these trends in the Indian market. Valeo works with all mobility actors to deliver solutions for electric mobility in India.
In 2020, Valeo launched a fully integrated compact 48V electric powertrain system to aid affordable electrification for small mobility vehicles like 2 and 3-Wheelers that are extensively used for first-and-last-mile connectivity in India. More recently, the Group has been chosen by Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, to provide the electric powertrain for a certain range of its ’Born Electric‘ passenger vehicle platform and on-board charger combo for the electric utility vehicles.
ADAS: Valeo is a global leader for advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and offers a wide range of hardware and software solutions to support the steady growth of this market in India. With R&D centers in Chennai and Bengaluru, Valeo is a key player for providing ADAS solutions to tier 1 automotive OEMs across the globe. The innovative solutions in graphics 3D Visualization has been recognized by Tier1 OEM’s as the world’s best quality Visualization solution as on date. In particular, more than 200 talented engineers (with 19 Valeo experts, 13 PhD and Masters from top universities) support the Group’s global effort to build advanced perception solutions for driving and parking functions.
Jayakumar G, Group President & Managing Director, Valeo India, said,, “We have been in the state of Tamil Nadu for over 25 years and expanded our diverse product portfolios in manufacturing. Also in the past 15 years we have established a Global Tech Center for our R&D and software activities, which is testament to the talent available in Chennai. We further plan to expand our operations and R&D in the upcoming years. I would like to thank the government for the continued support for our growth plan and for the State’s conducive business ecosystem, proactive industrial policies, skilled talent pool, robust infrastructure and its commitment to fostering technological advancements in the state.”
At the Global Investors Meet Tamil Nadu 2024 (GIM 2024) on January 7 and 8, Valeo’s stall in the French pavilion in collaboration with Team France will exhibit the Four pillars of Valeo’s Move-Up Strategy i.e. Electrification Acceleration, ADAS Acceleration, Lighting Everywhere, and Interior Experience Reinvention. The aftermarket specialist Valeo Service will display a wide range of product portfolio for the aftermarket segment.
In India, Valeo started its footprint in 1997 in Chennai for manufacturing Clutch and Friction Facing materials. With the first R&D Centre established in Chennai in 2005 for Powertrain Systems, Valeo went on to expand with Lighting Division, Thermal Systems, Wiper Division, Vision Systems Software Division and Valeo Service.
Sustainability is at the heart of Valeo. Valeo’s Chennai Plants utilize more than 90% of energy needs from wind energy. Valeo’s Global Technical Centre meets more than 50% of its energy needs from solar power.
Valeo is part of the GIM 2024 with the theme ‘Leadership, Sustainability, Inclusivity’, in Tamil Nadu, India’s second largest state economy, the company release said.
