Faurecia eyes to further expand business in China with R&D center

French auto-parts maker Faurecia expects to grow its business further in China as it opened a research and development center in Shanghai today.

"The research and development center represents our determination and goal to achieve further growth of business in the China market," said Patrick Koller, chief executive officer of Faurecia. 

"Faurecia expects our sales in China will grow from 18 billion yuan (US$ 2.7 billion) this year to 34 billion yuan in 2020. In 2022, the company hopes to achieve 40 billion yuan in sales in China. In 2020, more than 40 percent of our sales in China will be made with Chinese original equipment manufacturer," Koller added.

He said Faurecia is going to add 19 plants in China until 2020, or at a rate of one new plant every two months. The new plants will include those built by Faurecia, others built through joint ventures and expansion of current facilities.

The R&D center which opened today will serve as a hub to conduct research and development on clean mobility technologies including emissions control, acoustic treatment, weight reduction, and energy heat recovery.

The 45,000 square meter R&D center can develop clean mobility technologies for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The center expects to employ 620 employees including 350 engineers.