Ficosa, the Tier 1 global supplier of high-technology vision, safety, connectivity and efficiency systems for the automotive and mobility sectors, has hit an all-time record in 2016, with €181.6 million (Rs 1,388 crore) in new contracts for rearview mirrors with leading automobile manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide.

This figure is up 30% from the deals signed in 2015. The total value of these new projects, which have an average length of 5 years, amounts to €1,000 million (Rs 7,644 crore). 

As a result, Ficosa will increase production to an all-time high of 27.3 million units in 2021. Five years from now the company will be producing 4.9 million more rearview mirrors than today.   

Mercedes Pujol, director of the Rearview Systems Business Unit, said, “This great milestone is the result of a profound technological transformation in Ficosa and the important efforts we have made in terms of devoting resources to optimise our traditional product and develop new technologically innovative products in order to consolidate our position of leadership in the global market.”  

He added that the contracts won in 2016 show “a trend in the market towards substantially increasing added value in rearview mirrors, incorporating new functions like the 360deg view cameras, for example.”  

Significant growth in North America and China 
Ficosa says it has benefited from its strategic actions in the United States and China, two key markets for the company. In 2016, Ficosa gave a strong boost to its presence in the United States by opening a latest-generation plant in Cookeville, Tennessee.  

These new facilities, in which the company has invested more than $50 million, are equipped with the latest technology, making them the group’s most advanced plants in the world and boosting overall efficiency, operating capacity and competitiveness. Ficosa’s strategy in North America has begun to bear fruit, as can be seen in the great increase in new deals signed for this market.  

Furthermore, the company opened a new plant in Shenyang (northern China) and has also increased its market share in the Asian country, where growth has mainly hinged on western customers and Chinese OEMs that are important due to their technology. Ficosa has also been able to begin working with new Asian customers.