French supplier Faurecia says it is confident of reaching full-year sales targets of between EUR14.8bn (US$21.3bn) and EUR15.3bn as it increasingly eyes the Chinese market.
Speaking to just-auto from Paris, a Faurecia spokesman added chief executive Yann Delabriere had also confirmed operating margin goals of between EUR580m and EUR640m, as well as free cash flow in excess of EUR200m.
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“He [Delabriere] is confident Faurecia will meet its full-year targets, which were announced in February,” said the spokesman. “They are still valid.
“The target for 2015 is EUR2.5bn sales [in] China, multiplied 2.5 times for last year – that is taking advantage of strong growth in the Chinese market.”
The French supplier currently has 25 plants in China and plans to open five more by the end of this year. Should sales targets be achieved, Faurecia is aiming for 50 plants and around 15,000 employees on mainland China by 2015.
Such strong growth is fuelled by China as a first-buyer or early-adopter market, with the latter tending to change models now.
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By GlobalDataEqually and in addition to established foreign OEMs there are dozens of local brands in China that are breaking through, partly with the backing of the Chinese government which is keen to see domestic marques achieve market share.
Faurecia has its own joint ventures and partners in China, as well as its own research and development footprint.
As an example, last year the French company signed an agreement with Geely and Volvo for car interiors, while it has also reinforced its ties with the Xuyang Group, a half public and half private industrial complex that is one of the main suppliers of FAW.
