Valeo reaffirms committment to China

Valeo is committed to its development in China, where it is developing, testing and introducing innovative products and technologies, said CEO Christophe Périllat.

Périllat made the remarks at an event in Zhejiang province to celebrate the French auto supplier's 30th anniversary in China.

In 1994, Valeo introduced its windshield wiper business into the country, setting up a manufacturing facility in Wenling, Zhejiang.

Over 30 years of development, it has become a wiper provider for almost all carmakers in the Chinese market, said Jean-Luc Terrasse, vice-president of wiper systems product group at Valeo.

Périllat said Valeo will increase its investment in China in such aspects as electrification, autonomous driving and software, as well as visual systems.

He said China has become to some extent a training center for global automakers, and Valeo will train with them together to go faster, higher and stronger.

China is Valeo's largest market across the globe. Now over 70 percent of Valeo's orders in China are from local Chinese carmakers, including both established ones and startups.

Valeo said China is one of the major markets in its Move Up strategy, where the company has 35 production bases, 14 research and development facilities and over 4,500 R&D staff.