Faurecia and Valeo have outlined some future thinking with the former’s ‘Life on Board’ strategy and the latter’s ultra-small vehicle for cities.
The suppliers made their comments at the recent Forum on the European Automotive Industry (FEAL) in Lille, grouping suppliers, OEMs and government officials in France’s primary manufacturing region for the sector.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Northern France is a hotbed of automakers and suppliers and employs huge numbers of people – although long-term some are expressing fears France is vulnerable to challenges to its traditional diesel sector from new energy alternatives.
“Our strategy is to be part of this autonomous vehicle [drive] and be part of ‘Life on Board’ said Faurecia vice president Group Strategy, Antoine Doyon at the Lille conference. “Level 3 where the driver is able to take control at any time and Level 4 [where] the car would take over the whole driving function.
“To go from Level 3 to 4 has an impact on the time you have to spend on freetime. We are developing solutions on the basis of what we call an Intuitive Cabin. The idea is to look at the different types of driving in terms of difference seat positions you would like to have. We have developed this with ZF.
“You could have a sound bubble to telephone or listen to music without bothering other passengers.”
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataAlso addressing the FEAL conference was Faureica’s fellow-French supplier, Valeo, which outlined its plans for ultra-small city vehicles.
“When we think about urban vehicles, in general there are 0.8 people per car,” noted Valeo powertrain systems product marking director, Stephane Martinot in Lille. The car we are using today is strongly over-sized. We think there is an opportunity for a very small electric vehicle to solve this equation.
“The price of the vehicle would be more accepted by the end user. We believe there is a clear space for these 48V battery vehicles. It will help accelerate the penetration of EVs. We started in China because this market already exists – 80% of electric vehicles in China are A or B segment.
“India for example and why not US could be a good market for this solution – it is really a revolution. The key point for us now is to be able to deliver to our customers.”
