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Faurecia: lighter parts, fewer emissions
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FAURECIA, the sixth-largest automotive equipment supplier in the world, has a grand plan for its innovation-driven China business.
It enjoyed 1.9 billion euro (US$2.6 billion) of sales here last year and it aims to double that figure to 3.8 billion euro in the next five years. The strategy also calls for increasing its local factories to 55 from 36 by 2018, which means the addition of an average five plants a year.
Most of its investment in components plants, specializing in seating, emissions control, interior and exterior systems, are already completed. Faurecia has now shifted its focus to developing final assembly “just-in-time” plants to make quick deliveries to customers.
“On the scale of 10, I would rate our business in China an eight,” Jean-Michel Vallin, president of Faurecia China, said at the China Auto Parts and Service Show 2014 held in Shanghai this month.
“Along with the continuous maturing and development of the Chinese market,” he said, “consumer requirements for vehicles have been rising, from elementary demand for safety to demands for higher levels of efficiency, environmental protection, comfort and style. That poses new challenges for automakers and equipment suppliers.”
With greater challenges come greater opportunities. Faurecia holds a 25 percent share of the global market for emissions control technology and 27 percent of the China market.
As this nation tightens its vehicle emissions standards to fight air pollution, the company sees a golden chance to increase its presence.
In China’s commercial vehicle segment, Faurecia is squarely placed as the stricter National IV emissions standard for diesel vehicles replaces the National III standard nationwide next year.
Boasting the removal of most particles emitted during the combustion of diesel fuels, Faurecia’s co-invented diesel particulate filter is expected to play a big role. It is already compulsory for installation on new vehicles in the capital, and has become a worldwide standard.
The company’s hopes are riding on its newly developed ammonia storage and delivery system — which sets a new benchmark in reduction of nitrogen oxide pollutants reduction. The technology has gone into trial on domestic brand Yutong buses.
As a cheaper alternative to the traditional liquid catalytic selective reduction system, the new system is capable of delivering precise amount of ammonia as a catalyst in the exhaust line, leading to faster activation of nitrogen oxide conversion to nitrogen, especially under cold starts, and doubling the ammonia volume per liter available for conversion.
The new technology is not just about lower emissions, but also about lower system weight at the same kilometer autonomy, which is part of Faurecia’s big picture of reducing vehicle weight to improve performance and fuel consumption.
The European Union expects to cut vehicle carbon dioxide emissions from 130 grams per kilometer to 95 grams by 2020. For each one gram of emissions escaping, a car needs to lose 10 kilograms of weight.
Faurecia is able to help achieve a 100-kilogram reduction by using advanced new materials, such as natural fibers, and by adopting new manufacturing techniques utilizing lasers and arc welding.
Vallin said Faurecia has a target to cut 30 percent of the weight of its products, and has already achieved half that goal.
Lightweight technologies are already used by most global carmakers and are gradually being introduced into Chinese domestic brands.
Other new technologies — like carbon composites that can reduce weight by up to 50 percent over traditional steel parts and 15 percent over aluminum components — are still in the realm of a very select group of racing-car makers.
“It will take certainly 10 years before we see any significant volume increase of carbon composite materials in passenger cars,” Vallin said.
“That is a very long-term vision.”
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