At the head of Faurecia just two years ago, Patrick Koller sees big for the automotive supplier. During a day investors, he unveiled Tuesday his medium-term ambitions: a turnover 30 billion euros in 2025, against 17 billion in 2017. A near-doubling, he hopes to achieve primarily through organic growth: he expects “only” 1.5 billion additional revenue related to acquisitions in 2030.
While the automotive industry is facing an unprecedented revolution, with the rise of electric or self-driving cars, the equipment supplier controlled by PSA is banking on what it calls “New Value Spaces”: clean mobility and smart cockpit. “In 2025, these activities will represent 20% of our turnover”, hopes Patrick Koller. That is 6.8 billion euros, whereas they only generated 500 million last year.
Cockpit of the future
Already present in the systems of decontamination, Faurecia will continue its efforts of innovation in this field. “We do not believe in the disappearance of the pure thermal engines, which will remain massively used: they will represent to us still 52% of the sales in 2030. Even the diesel will not disappear, except without doubt on the engines below two liters” , advance the leader. But the equipment maker also has high hopes for “zero emission” mobility, with its battery packs for electric cars, and its tanks and valves for hydrogen vehicles – a technology in which it believes a lot and on which it has just won. his first contract, “with a European manufacturer”, he reveals.
The other big area on which Patrick Koller bases his strategy, the famous “cockpit of the future” , has not really generated revenue yet. But given orders already registered, it expects 1 billion euros in 2020 and 4.2 billion in 2025. His vision: with the development of autonomous driving, the car will become an extension of the show. With all that that implies in terms of security, connectivity, ergonomics, individual comfort, etc. To strengthen its offer, Faurecia has already concluded several acquisitions (Parrot) and partnerships (ZF, Mahle, Accenture ). It plans to double the number of engineers working in software, data, and more generally artificial intelligence by 2020, from 650 to 1300.
Rationalization and savings
A strategy of capturing the value that will allow him, he hopes, to take a growing share of the content of vehicles (+ 25% by 2030). However, it is no longer a question of the “fourth foot” mentioned last year , which was to complete the three activities of the group (seats, interiors, depollution) to diversify it. “It does not seem necessary to us anymore. In addition, potential targets are currently very expensive, “says the leader.
Requiring a special effort on innovation, this roadmap will also go through a vast program of rationalization and savings. “It’s about making Faurecia resilient, while the automotive industry remains cyclical,” insists Patrick Koller. Faurecia notably announced a transfer of R & D staff to low-cost countries (particularly India, with 1,200 additional engineers), which will represent 55% of the total in 2020 compared to 35% in 2016. The group’s 300 plants will be also scrutinized under a magnifying glass via a series of criteria, even to close the worst performers. “I will not have any problem with that. Fifteen factories that derail, it is untenable for an equipment manufacturer, it is 150 million euros per year! He continues. Finally, the 34 functional centers (finance, purchasing, IT, etc.) will be grouped together on 5 sites.
Objective of these measures: to achieve 250 million euros of annual savings in 2020. At this date, Faurecia hopes to have raised its operating margin to 8%, for revenues of 20 billion euros. It stood at 6.9% last year, a level considered a little weak for the sector.