1. Home
2. Supplier Database
3. Major Suppliers
4. Valeo Group
5. Valeo Group Business Report FY ended Dec. 2019

Valeo Group Business Report FY ended Dec. 2019

Factors
1) Net Sales
-The Company’s net sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 increased by 1.8% over the previous year to EUR 19,477 million. Currency translation effects increased sales by 1.7%, while changes in consolidation scope decreased sales by 0.2%. Excluding currency translation effects and changes in consolidation, like-for-like Company sales increased by 0.3% over the previous year. Original equipment sales remained constant on a like-for-like basis, while aftermarket sales declined by approximately 2%. Miscellaneous revenue, which includes tooling revenue and customer contributions to R&D, increased by 16% during the year.

2) Comfort & Driving Assistance Systems
-The Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems Business Group had sales of EUR 3,591 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, a decrease of 4.0% over the previous year. Within the business group, organic sales increased by 3.5%. However, a significant percentage of organic sales was moved out of the Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems Business Group and reassigned to a separate category due to the Company’s decision to leave the top column module business. Excluding the change in consolidation scope, sales increased due to new product launches in Europe, specifically of front cameras for German and French customers. A favorable customer mix in China also contributed to increased sales.

3) Powertrain Systems
-In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, sales in the Powertrain Systems Business Group decreased by 0.8% from the previous year to EUR 4,998 million. While sales declined compared to the previous year, it outperformed automotive production by approximately six percentage points, primarily due to European launches in the powertrain electrification segment.

4) Thermal Systems
-Sales for the Thermal Systems Business Group in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 remained approximately level compared to the previous year at EUR 4,516 million. While the business group had an unfavorable customer mix in Asia, specifically with Nissan and Subaru in Japan, its sales in North America and Europe benefited from the launch of several customers with U.S. and French customers.

5) Visibility Systems
-The Visibility Systems Business Group had sales of EUR 5,923 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, an increase of 3.9% from the previous year. Sales increased due to the start of production of various projects in North America, specifically with U.S. customers in the lighting segment.

Acquisitions

-In 2019, the Company acquired a 50% stake in Asaphus, a spin-off of a Germany university which specializes in the development of facial recognition and driver monitoring software. The Company has already integrated solutions from Asaphus in its driver monitoring systems.

Business Partnerships

-The Company and Dana Incorporated announced a global collaboration to bring to market end-to-end 48V hybrid and electric vehicle systems. The first of these will be released in early 2020 with a major European carmaker on series-produced cars. The systems provide all the components required to electrify light urban vehicles and hybridize vehicles weighing up to 2.5 tons. They comprise an electric motor and an inverter designed and manufactured by the Company, and a Spicer Electrified e-Gearbox developed by Dana. Consistent, optimized and easy to install on all types of vehicles, the comprehensive solution is attractive because its low voltage configuration makes it affordable and easy to maintain. (From a press release on October 3, 2019)

Recent Developments

-Ichikoh Industries, Ltd. announced that all of the shares of the company held by Toyota Motor Corporation were acquired by Valeo Bayen, a subsidiary of the Company. The Company’s ratio to the voting rights of all shareholders will rise by 6.1 points to 61.2%. Toyota decided to sell Ichikoh Industries’ shares to the Company to comply with the corporate governance code with regard to the reduction of cross-shareholdings. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 14, 2019)

-The Company informed that Bpifrance’s stake in its share capital has crossed the threshold of 5%, following its acquisition of shares on the open market. The Company is pleased to welcome back Bpifrance as a long-term shareholder that is keen to accompany the Company in implementing its strategy. Bpifrance’s investment attests to its confidence in the Company’s strategy and growth potential, and will help strengthen the Company’s positioning as a major player in the three technological revolutions reshaping the automotive industry in electrification, autonomous vehicles, and digital mobility. In this context, the Company’s Board of Directors will support the appointment of a Bpifrance representative, chosen jointly with the Company, to sit on the Board in the future. (From a press release on April 29, 2019)

-The Company has set objectives to achieve a stronger market outperformance in the second half of 2019 compared to the same time in 2018. Sales have gradually increased during the year thanks to the start of production on new contracts, particularly in the camera, electrical and transmission systems, and lighting segments. It will also roll-out a new program to reduce costs by more than EUR 100 million and reduce capital expenditure by more than EUR 100 million. (From a press release on February 21, 2019)

Contracts

-In 2019, the Company secured major contracts with European, Japanese and Chinese automakers for battery thermal management systems for electric vehicles on the Chinese and Japanese markets.

-The sensor in the Honda Sensing advanced safety driver assistance system incorporated in the all-new Honda Fit, which is scheduled to launch in February 2020, will change to a camera-only system. The monocular wide-angle camera for the new system is made by the Company and offers improved image recognition accuracy while having a field of view of 100 degrees, twice as wide as conventional cameras. The new Honda Sensing system will also cost less compared to the current system, which combines a camera with millimeter-wave radar. The current system features a monocular camera and millimeter-wave radar from Bosch. The new Honda Sensing system includes an image processing chip made by Mobileye to provide improved obstacle recognition accuracy. This allows the new system to detect objects with only the camera. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on November 27, 2019)

Outlook

-The Company expects to be one of the leaders in electrification and autonomous technologies as two-thirds of high-voltage electric vehicles above 60V launched by European automakers between 2019 and 2022 will feature high-voltage systems supplied by Company. Also, one-quarter of vehicles produced in 2019 feature ADAS solutions supplied by the Company.

-The Company aims to increase sales of electric motors, DC-DC converters, and other products for electrified vehicles fivefold from its current sales to EUR 2.5 billion in 2022. The Company will supply its 48V systems for approximately 60 small mobility models launched by European OEMs from 2020 onwards. The Company aims to have a 40% market share of the global 48V system market. Targeting the Japanese market, the Company developed an all-electric light truck equipped with a 48V system in collaboration with Gunma University. In approximately three years, the Company will expand sales of 48V systems from current figures of EUR 200 million to EUR 1.1 billion and expand sales of 60V or higher voltage systems from current figures of EUR 300 million to EUR 1.4 billion. Sales of the Company’s high-voltage systems are expected to reach EUR 2 billion in 2024. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on December 17, 2019)

-The Company will present 12 new key technological platforms at its Investor Day to cement its leadership in the fields of vehicle electrification and ADAS. It will also describe the growth opportunities derived from the sharp increase in the Company’s average content per vehicle. The Powertrain Systems and Comfort & Driving Assistance Systems Business Groups will present their new technological platforms, and their positioning in regards to their competition, the value chain and key commercial achievements. Also, the Company has gradually withdrawn from the diesel market, which now accounts for only around 1% of its sales. It is positioned as the leader in powertrain electrification, both for 48V systems and high-voltage electric solutions, while also reinforcing its position on the driving assistance market by expanding its portfolio. During the 2020-2022 period, the Group is targeting organic sales growth to outperform global automotive production by approximately 5 percentage points. The Company anticipates improving its profitability and increasing its EBITDA to more than 15% of sales in 2022. The Valeo Siemens eAutomotive (VSeA) joint venture is targeting sales of EUR 1.4 billion in 2022, and sales of more than EUR 2 billion in 2024. (From a press release on December 9, 2019)

-Since 2017, the Company has invested a total of more than EUR 500 million to the development of 12 new technological platforms which are designed to satisfy the demand generated in response to the automotive trends of electrification, autonomy, connectivity and digital mobility. The 12 platforms are expected to generate EUR 2.6 billion in sales through 2022. These 12 platforms are the following:

• High-voltage e-machines and e-axles
• High-voltage inverters
• High-voltage onboard chargers
• Electric vehicle battery cooling systems
• Electric vehicle interior thermal systems
• Heat pumps for electric vehicles
• 48V e-machines and e-axles
• 48V DC/DC converters
• Front cameras
• Scala lidar systems
• Driver monitoring systems
• Autonomous pods

R&D Facilities

-As of December 31, 2019, the Company has a total of 59 research and development centers, divided into 20 research centers and 39 development centers.

-The Company’s research and development centers are distributed by region as follows:

• Western Europe: 26
• Central & Eastern Europe: 5
• Africa: 1
• North America: 6
• South America: 3
• Asia, Middle East, Oceania: 18

-On October 4, 2019, the Valeo Wuhan Technology Center completed the second phase of its expansion. Located in the Wuhan Development Zone, the center focuses on the design and development of lighting technology, comfort and drive assist systems. The expansion adds 3,000 square meters of land space for the center. In total, the floor space, including research and development facilities and car testing laboratory, spans 14,000 square meters. The center will be the Company’s largest research and development center in the world with a team of more than 1,000 engineers in the future. (From some media reports on October 15, 2019)

-The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) announced that the Company has set up a Center of Excellence at its campus. The Company has initiated joint research projects on emerging technologies and is currently working on five projects together with VIT. The 1,800-square-feet facility showcases the Company’s products and technologies in the areas of powertrain systems, thermal systems, visibility systems and autonomous driving to expose students to current and future automotive industry trends. The center will be utilized by research scholars and students for experimentation and testing of their projects and computational studies. (From VIT news on June 25, 2019)

-The Company announced that it would set up a state-of-the-art test lab facility with an investment of INR 250 million at Navalur, Chennai. The facility will provide testing and prototype services to Company sites across the globe. The research and development lab in Chennai will also enable the Company to locally design and develop solutions for its Indian customers. Formed in 2010 with 50 engineers at Chennai, the R&D hub today employs over 1,000 engineers, leveraging their skillsets to provide efficient support in the areas of mechanical design, simulation, embedded software development, computer vision, machine learning and hardware and functional safety design. The division plans to increase its headcount to 5,000 engineers by 2023. (From Valeo Group social media updates on March 18, 2019)

-The Company will invest EUR 44 million in a major RD&I investment program in Tuam, which will build on its capabilities in ADAS systems and position it at the forefront of autonomous vehicle development. This investment will lead to the creation of 50 new R&D positions over the next three years, which will see Irish R&D center grow to over 500 people. The center in Tuam is the Company’s worldwide reference center for vision systems. The site includes a state-of-the-art production facility alongside an R&D Center of Excellence which holds responsibility for the development and manufacturing of camera vision systems. Products developed by the Tuam R&D center are also in production across the world at Company sites in Germany, Hungary, Mexico and China. (From IDA Ireland press release on March 13, 2019)

-On January 22, the Company’s subsidiary, Valeo Japan Co., Ltd. announced that it will construct the Ibaraki Advanced Driver Assistance System Development Evaluation Center, a new development center for autonomous vehicles, in Namegata City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2019 and is expected to complete in November 2020. An operational area at the new center will be gradually expanded from April 2019. In line with the establishment of the new center, the company will increase the number of engineers for driver assistance systems and autonomous driving from 130 at present to 180 in 2021. In addition to development and evaluation functions, the new development center will have a 600-meter circuit track with a 300-meter straight are and an NCAP crash test area with a length of 150 meters and a width of 100 meters. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on January 23, 2019)

R&D Structure

-As of December 31, 2019, the Company has approximately 19,900 employees working in research and development, including 7,000 software engineers.

R&D Activities

-Valeo Japan, a Company subsidiary, will participate in the 2nd phase of the strategic innovation promotion program, “SIP-adus, Innovation of Automated Driving for Universal Services”, led by the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan in collaboration with other ministries and organizations. The program seeks to benefit society and reduce the number of traffic accidents, lessen traffic congestion, secure mobility for individuals with restricted access to transportation, alleviate driver shortages and reduce costs for logistics and mobility services. It aims to accomplish this by the commercialization and development of common issues across industry, academia, and the government. The Company will run its automated driving system, Cruise4U on Metropolitan Expressway routes in the Tokyo waterfront area, and will report experimental data and analysis results. The experiment is scheduled to start from October 2019 when the necessary transportation infrastructure is in place. (From a press release on June 13, 2019)

-Silicon Mobility announced the success of the GMG-EHL project executed with the support of the Company on automotive powertrain electrification. The results of the project have demonstrated that the Silicon Mobility’s OLEA solution improves energy efficiency, lowers CO2 emissions, strengthens the functional safety and reduces the cost of electronics system control of mild-hybrid electric vehicles. The project relies on the technology program “2l/100km vehicle” from PFA (French Automotive Supply Chain Association) by developing the GMG-EHL project (integrated control for Gear Motor driven Generator – electronic for Mild-Hybrid vehicles). GMG-EHL enabled the design and industrialization of OLEA FPCU (Field Programmable Control Unit), a semiconductor-based solution delivering unique real-time and functional safety capabilities. OLEA FPCU comes with OLEA COMPOSER, its development and calibration framework. Validated on the Company’s mild-hybrid system testbench, the OLEA solution demonstrated an energy yield improvement of the electric motor/Inverter, further reducing CO2 emissions by 5%. (From a press release on May 16, 2019)

Technological Alliance

-The Company has research and development partnerships with a number of companies across various systems and services as follows:

• DENSO TEN: Active safety systems
• LeddarTech: Detection and ranging solutions for active safety applications
• Mobileye: Microprocessors, computer vision algorithms, laser scanner technology
• Gemalto: Security for the InVlue virtual key system
• Capgemini: Mov’inblue intelligent mobility solution for vehicle fleets
• Cisco: Smart parking service
• NTT Docomo: Development of new mobility services for connected cars
• Baidu: Enables partnership with Apollo, the open autonomous driving platform
• WABCO: Active safety technologies for commercial vehicles

-Valeo Egypt signed two Memorandums of Understanding, one with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), and the other with the Academy for Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT). Valeo Egypt is committed to work in cooperation with ITIDA on providing world-class training on the latest information and communication technologies in the automotive field, creating locals jobs as part of the Company’s effort to expand its operations in Egypt. Its investment in research activities and utilization of the Company’s state-of-the-art car lab research center facility, software and hardware tools, and its local and international experts help to advance prototypes, patents and research papers. The agreement for academia-industry research cooperation between Valeo Egypt and ASRT, was signed to enforce academic research in the fields of deep learning, electrification and digitization. (From a press release on January 29, 2019)

-R&P POLYPLASTIC informed that a technical conference for one of its largest customers, the Company, took place in Togliatti, Russia. Further to the negotiations, parties agreed on future cooperation and concerted efforts to implement suggestions of R&P POLYPLASTIC in the field of engineering thermoplastics. R&P POLYPLASTIC presented solutions to replace expensive foreign materials by Russian equivalents based on polyamide 6. Additionally, the Company and R&P POLYPLASTIC quality and technical specialists discussed the issues of decreasing weight characteristics of materials and ways of combined prime cost optimization of final products. (From a press release on January 15, 2019)

-The Company announced that it entered into a strategic partnership in the field of the last-mile autonomous delivery technology with Meituan, a Chinese web service provider. The two companies will develop vehicles for the last-mile delivery of goods and items without a driver from a transportation hub to a final destination. They’ll combine the use scenes and autonomous driving technology of Meituan and electric motors, sensors, lighting, thermal management, and other core components and technology developed by the Company. Meituan is a provider of China’s leading e-commerce platform for daily necessities as well as the largest food delivery platform in China. (From a post on Valeo WeChat official account on January 9, 2019)

-The Company has signed a partnership agreement with Mobileye to develop and promote a new autonomous vehicle (AV) safety standard based on Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS), Mobileye’s mathematical safety model. RSS formalizes human notions of safe driving into a verifiable model with logically provable rules and defined responses. This model prescribes safety and does not rely on millions of miles of driving history to teach safety. The Company and Mobileye will collaborate on policies and technologies needed to bolster the adoption of an RSS-based technology standard in Europe, the U.S. and China. The partnership will include drafting of frameworks for the verification and commercial deployment of safe AVs, funding of public research on the RSS model, contributing to draft standards and participation in key committees and working groups in designated standards organizations. (From a press release on January 8, 2019)

Product Development

Demonstration vehicles to showcase electrification solutions
-In 2019, the Company developed multiple demonstration vehicles to showcase applications of its electrification solutions for small vehicles, including:

• An electric cart with a 48V starter-alternator and belt-driven transmission system
• A light urban vehicle with a 48V starter-alternator, belt-driven transmission system and 6 kWh battery, which enables a 45 km/h top speed and range of 100 km
• A kei-truck vehicle developed jointly with Gunma University in Japan with two 48V powertrains, an electric motor with a 15 kW peak, inverter and transmission

PictureBeam Monolithic HD LED lighting solution expected launch
-The Company’s PictureBeam Monolithic technology, the first high definition LED smart lighting solution, will be available on the market from 2022 and will improve road safety at night. Capable of projecting around 4,000 pixels onto the road from a single lighting module, PictureBeam Monolithic produces a wide beam of light for an optimal field of vision, and currently offers the best anti-glare function. PictureBeam Monolithic also offers driving assistance functions, thanks to its ability to create road markings. For example, the headlamps can be used to trace bends in the road, improving safety and driving comfort. This new technology also improves visibility of pedestrians, cyclists and obstacles at night. (From a press release on December 16, 2019)

Drive4U Remote vehicle operation system
-The Company will demonstrate the new Valeo Drive4U Remote solution at the Tokyo Motor Show. It allows operators to see what is happening both inside and outside of a moving car and to remotely take control of a vehicle when it is unable to handle a given situation. Valeo Drive4U, a demonstration car, has an automatic emergency brake that safely stops the vehicle when there are obstacles that are not visible to the operator during teleoperation. It uses series sensors produced by the Company. The teleoperation demonstration of Valeo Drive4U Remote connected by 5G network, showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show, shows a new approach of digital mobility developed jointly by the Company and NTT DOCOMO. It will be a key enabler of Level 4 autonomous driving. (From a press release on October 15, 2019)

Technologies shown at IAA 2019
-The Company will showcase a plug-in family hybrid vehicle prototype equipped with a complete Company electrical system, including electric motor, onboard charger, and DC/DC converter at IAA 2019. The vehicle can drive 40 km in all-electric mode at speeds of up to 70 km/h in urban environments and can switch to the internal combustion engine for longer distances. The Company will also present its latest advances in battery thermal management systems, a key challenge for the EV segment. The Company will exhibit a wide range of sensors, comprising ultrasonic sensors, cameras, radars, and lidar systems, and an onboard AI system which interprets collected data to enable the vehicle to autonomously operate. Furthermore, the Company will present Valeo VoyageXR, an innovation that reflects the growing trend of experience sharing. With this innovation, someone outside the vehicle can become a virtual passenger, turning an isolated, individualistic journey into a shared, immersive experience. (From a press release on September 11, 2019)

Empathic occupant monitoring system
-Sensum announced that it has partnered with the Company to develop an onboard evaluation system to interact more effectively with passengers and understand their needs. The system addresses safety by monitoring fatigue and distraction levels, and accounts for comfort and wellbeing through calming or energizing stimuli. At the Viva Technology conference in Paris, Sensum presented technology that shows how new vehicles will interact empathically with their occupants. Leveraging AI based on various in-cabin sensors, the Company’s system measures each passenger's physiological and emotional profile to provide them with a customized and multisensory comfort bubble, adjusting light, fragrances, sounds and thermal sensations. The cabin uses Sensum's empathic AI technology to process sensor data and detect subtle changes in a person's physiology. This information is then used to help machines interact with humans more empathically. (From a press release on May 23, 2019)

Backseat infant and occupant detection system
-In 2022, the Company will begin mass production of a system that detects infants left behind in vehicles through non-camera occupant detection sensors. In the past, the Company’s detection systems have primarily used cameras. This new system will be the first mass-produced detection system using other sensors, according to Junya Kotani, Business Development. In Europe, infant detection functions are expected be taken into account in safety evaluations of future vehicles. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 23, 2019)

Technologies shown at Viva Technology conference
-The Company will take part in the Viva Technology conference. The Group is showing its latest innovations and hosting approximately 30 start-ups at its Lab to compete in challenges in the fields of new mobility services, user experiences and fleet management solutions. One system is the Valeo Voyage XR, which draws on virtual reality and a broad range of technologies developed by the Company, such as cameras, sensors, telematics and human-machine interfaces. Valeo Voyage XR allows users to “teletransport” someone, bringing them virtually onboard the vehicle. The Company is also unveiling a vehicle cabin that can sense passengers’ emotions and create a customized comfort bubble with stimuli personalized for each passenger. Working in partnership with Sensum, an empathetic AI specialist, the Company has developed an onboard evaluation system to interact more effectively with passengers and understand their needs. In addition, thanks to a specialized fleet of vehicles which have sensors to measure fine particle, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone levels, the Company has developed the most comprehensive air quality map in Paris. The map gives a real-time picture of urban air quality and tracks its fluctuations in both space and time. (From a press release on May 13, 2019)

Technologies shown at 2019 Shanghai International Auto Show
-The Company will reveal its latest technological innovations, which are at the epicenter of the revolutions shaping mobility at the 2019 Shanghai International Auto Show. The Company is presenting its 48 V low-voltage, all-electric urban vehicle prototype. The fully functional two-seat electric vehicle can reach speeds of up to 100 km/h, and has a range of 150 km. It can be charged via any power socket. The Company is also unveiling its reversible charger, a major innovation enabling vehicles to both recharge and generate power from and for the power grid. The Company is also presenting its all‑weather, all-season thermal and comfort solutions for electric vehicles, designed to optimize travel range. The Shanghai Auto Show will be the perfect opportunity to showcase the Company’s portfolio of sensors, the most comprehensive on the market. It includes Valeo SCALA, currently the first and only series-produced lidar in the automotive industry. (From a press release on April 15, 2019)

PictureBeam Monolithic HD LED lighting solution expected launch
-The Company and Cree, Inc. have jointly developed the first complete HD LED array solution for automotive lighting systems. The Company is demonstrating this innovation - Valeo PictureBeam Monolithic - at the CES 2019 exhibition. Powered by breakthrough Cree LED technology, Valeo PictureBeam Monolithic provides both glare free and high beam road marking functions together with high performance low beam and high beam in a single compact solution. This unique solution incorporates a scalable LED array in which the pixels of the light beam are formed directly at the light source. The module is therefore smaller and weighs less than other HD lighting systems on the market. Under the control of the Company’s electronic system, each pixel can be individually switched on, off or adjusted at will based on driver needs and road conditions. (From a press release on January 10, 2019)

Technologies shown at CES 2019
-The Company will unveil its latest technological innovations at the epicenter of the revolutions shaping mobility, in autonomous systems, powertrain electrification and digital mobility at CES 2019. The Company will present Valeo Drive4U, its first autonomous car, which can perform all operations using only Company sensors that are already series-produced such as ultrasound, cameras, lasers, radars and lidars combined with AI. The Valeo Voyage XR system is able to simulate the virtual presence of a person – based in an outside location – on board the autonomous vehicle during the journey. This means that the car could potentially be controlled externally by somebody who is aware of what is happening within the vehicle. The Company will also showcase the Valeo XtraVue Trailer and Valeo PictureBeam Monolithic systems. Valeo XtraVue causes a trailer or caravan to appear invisible in the rearview mirror of the vehicle towing it for improved visibility. Valeo PictureBeam is a high definition lighting system developed in partnership with Cree. (From a press release on January 7, 2019)

Mov'InBlue shared mobility solution
-Mov’InBlue, a smart digital mobility solution, created by the Company, Capgemini and Drivy, Europe’s leading car-sharing platform, announced the launch of a connected and interoperable shared mobility solution. With the solution, fleet managers will be able to make their vehicles available for self-service car-sharing on the Drivy platform. When integrated with the Drivy platform, the Mov’InBlue solution makes it possible to share vehicles from any fleet with Drivy’s community of 2.5 million users, enabling fleet managers to optimize vehicle use and providing them with an additional source of revenue. (From a press release on January 4, 2019)

Global V2X system integrated to telematics platform
-The Company and Autotalks announced that they will display global V2X capabilities integrated in a telematics platform at CES 2019. The live demonstration shows a Company telematics platform capable of switching between DSRC and C-V2X for global deployments. The Autotalks V2X chipset is the world’s first available solution which supports both DSRC based on 802.11p/ITS-G5 standards and C-V2X based on 3GPP specifications. It allows customers to toggle between DSRC and C-V2X communications. The new chipset isolates V2X from the cellular Network Access Device, thus providing domain separation, security, scalability and potential cost-optimizations of telematic control unit deployments. (From a press release on January 3, 2019)

Patents

-The Company has a total of 33,340 patents, including 1,698 filed in 2019.

-The Company’s capital expenditure during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 decreased by 3.3% from the previous year. Investments decreased occurred across most of the Company’s operating regions, particularly in China, South Korea, Germany, Italy and Spain. The Company increased capital expenditure in the Czech Republic and Poland. In regards to specific business and product groups, the Company’s capital expenditure decreased in the Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems Business Group, and the Transmission Systems, Thermal Powertrain and Lighting Systems Product Groups.