The French group has also announced that it is working on a new generation electric motor with Renault. It should make its appearance in cars in 2027.
The French group Valeo will buy all the shares of its joint venture with the German Siemens for 277 million euros, in order to strengthen itself in the market of electric motors, in full swing, the French equipment manufacturer said on Wednesday.
On the set of BFM Business this Thursday morning, Christophe Périllat, CEO of Valeo, also announced that the Renault group, Valeo and its joint venture Valeo Siemens eAutomotive would work on an electric motor “new generation“. This engine,without rare earths“, subject according to him to “volatile prices» and to «geopolitical tensions“.
Renault will develop and produce the rotor, “without the use of rare earths», while Valeo and Valeo Siemens eAutomotive will develop and produce the stator. The three companies congratulate themselves in the text on becoming “the first players to produce a 200kW electric motor designed without rare earths on a large scale, starting in 2027“.
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“Electrification Champion»
The expected integration of the Valeo Siemens eAutomotive joint venture, founded in 2016 and in which Siemens held 50% of the shares, will be effective from July 1, 2022. Propulsion systems will then become Valeo’s main activity. “It is the creation of a true champion of electrification with prospects that we consider extremely favorable”underlined during a press conference Christophe Périllat, who replaced in January Jacques Aschenbroich at the head of the group. “It’s a way of accelerating on the high voltage”, or the biggest engines, “to put all these teams under the same roof”, underlined Christophe Périllat. “This is an important step in the history of Valeo at the start of this incredible transformation”.
With eight factories and 4,000 employees, including 1,600 engineers, Valeo Siemens eAutomotive produces electric propulsion systems, motors, inverters or on-board chargers for electric cars and plug-in hybrids from 21 car manufacturers, with 1.1 billion euros in sales in 2021.
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Faced with sales of hybrid and electric cars which have exploded in 2020 and 2021, Valeo is planning growth of more than 12% per year in its turnover in propulsion systems over the 2021/2025 period. By taking over the debt of 350 million euros from the joint venture, Valeo’s net debt will increase by 741 million euros “without substantially modifying the major balances of the balance sheet”, the group said in a statement. The group is targeting synergies for a total annual amount of 120 million euros by 2025. The combined entity should generate an EBITDA margin of more than 11%. Christophe Périllat is due to present his 2022-2025 strategic plan on February 25.