What is the secret to Valeo's innovation track record, considering your wide spectrum of operations?
We refer to our overall corporate strategy as the "Move Up" plan, which puts Valeo at the heart of this automotive transformation. We are focused on four key areas which are accelerating electrification and ADAS, reinventing the interior experience, and lighting everywhere. Lighting everywhere means we are addressing the evolving demand for lighting as the auto industry is moving towards autonomous and electric vehicles. We have been preparing for this industry transformation in our operations and development centers for many years now. For example, decades ago we were using ultrasonic technologies in parking applications. LiDAR is an incredible piece of hardware that has served the ADAS space, and as we have been working on it for a decade, now we are the only company that has an automotive grade lidar in production in vehicles.
In a market that is constantly changing, what do you think remains constant as a core value at Valeo?
Across our century-old existence, the core focus has always been to be technology enablers for tomorrow’s mobility. We truly want to change mobility for the better by making it safer and cleaner. We’ve even developed our own plan, known as CAP 50, to reduce our own carbon footprint but at the same time help accelerate the EV revolution. As the market has changed, we’ve also adapted and evolved. Over time, we have seen how the behavior of the competition is changing, especially in the ADAS sector. In the past we were competing against tier one active safety players and today our contenders are much broader. With startups moving fast in bringing new breakthrough ideas, we must stay true to our roots but at the same time recognize that the competition is moving quickly. Leveraging the experience of our global customer base and our best in class technologies is the recipe for success in the years to come. We have the benefit of serving different profiles of customers, from traditional OEMs that are interested in multiple levels of autonomous driving and all the way up to robo-taxis.
What is the one challenge that you must overcome for the company to prosper in the next three to five years?
We are living through the biggest transformation in the history of the automotive sector, but, as with any big change, there are several concerns that have risen in the marketplace and we’ve heard them all. EVs' high costs, a possible employment crisis due to self-driving delivery vehicles, raw material shortages, and an undeveloped charging infrastructure are some of the main issues that we hear.
However, while this transition is difficult, we must remember that the main reason for electrification is decarbonizing the planet.
As the expected impact arrives only when the slowest contributor is ready, all the ecosystem collaborators, from vehicle manufacturers to Tier 1s and sub-suppliers, must work in tandem.
Given that the end game for the acceleration of ADAS is making mobility safer, we are equipping one of three new cars with Valeo driving assistance technology sensors, thus being a world leader in this space. Nevertheless, making sure that our operations and technical teams are ready to stay at the tip of this transformation is our focus. Having the right talent at the right place at the right time is no easy feat in today's market. We know the next ten years are going to be testing our tenacity, but we are confident we are on the right track and we are ready.
What do you see as the most pressing matters that we should address to assure the success of this transition?
The supply chain resiliency is definitely top of mind. In terms of ADAS, as we move into the future, the types and quantity of semiconductors is a critical topic. The industry is focused on consolidating the compute centers in the vehicle, which provides the opportunity for compute scalability while optimizing the profile and quantity of semiconductor components used.
Regarding Electrification, securing the supply chain of battery related raw materials is important. Valeo does not directly make batteries, we make batteries better. We provide high performance battery thermal technology which extends the range and life of the battery therefore reducing the demand on the key battery raw materials.
Is there a particular moment when you realized that you are part of something bigger?
Valeo is prepared for this technological revolution. It’s an exciting time to be part of the automotive industry. The company is growing very quickly and we have been gaining progress in the ADAS and Electrification space. We are now at the level where our customers recognize us as a leader and actively request to collaborate. The fact that they are relying on our insights and products to move forward with their developments shows that we are indeed making a difference in the industry. At the same time, realizing that we are just at the tip of the iceberg in terms of growth, makes us work even harder for Valeo's future.
