FORVIA and BYD to rev up their partnership with the construction of new seat assembly plant in Thailand
FORVIA, the world’s 7th largest supplier of automotive technologies, and BYD will launch the construction of a new state-of-the-art seat-assembly plant in the Rayong province of Thailand. This new facility will produce complete seat sets under Shenzhen Faurecia Automotive Parts Co., Ltd, a joint venture created by BYD and Faurecia in 2017, majority owned by FORVIA.
This strategic leap strengthens the global technical partnership developed with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, propelling both companies further into the Asia-Pacific market. The collaboration has already yielded impressive results, with seven cutting-edge factories established in China, including four within the past 18 months.
FORVIA’s entry into Thailand’s market for its Seating activities marks a powerful milestone, complementing the Group’s existing industrial presence in the country across its Interior, Electronics, and Clean Mobility businesses.
We are thrilled to establish our Seating activity in Thailand, while strengthening our strategic alliance with BYD. Thailand will serve as our export hub for the Asia-Pacific region, a crucial growth engine for our successful future.
FORVIA believes building on existing partnerships to develop new projects is key to strengthening ties with its customers. The common decision to build our new plant in Thailand was bolstered by the robust logistics and export infrastructure available in the country, as well as by our long-standing industrial presence in the country, and is in line with FORVIA’s strategy of establishing a balanced portfolio in terms of customers, technologies and geography. This factory develops us further into the Asia-Pacific region, set to account for 57% of global automotive industry growth over the coming fifteen years.
A strong presence in Asia
FORVIA employs over 40,000 people through all Asia. In 2022, the Group recorded sales of over 6.7 billion euros in this region of the globe, i.e. 27% of FORVIA's total sales. The outlook for this market is promising: by 2025, it is estimated that Asia (excluding India) will account for 50% of global vehicle production.
BYD a key strategic customer and a valuable partner for FORVIA.
The FORVIA-BYD cooperation is one of the most remarkable achievements between a French company and a private Chinese company in the automotive sector. Launched in 2017, this collaboration is based on a solid industrial footprint, with an annual production capacity of 2.6 million seats and an R&D center in Shenzhen. This cooperation is based on a spirit of long-term strategic collaboration and win-win results. It focuses on megatrends in the automotive industry to support decarbonization objectives in both Europe and China. It will provide essential support for the construction of joint solutions between China and France for sustainable and affordable mobility, and their industrialization in Europe.