FORVIA and BYD plan seat assembly plant in Thailand as export hub for APAC

FORVIA, the world’s seventh largest supplier of automotive technologies, and Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD are to begin 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, a joint venture created by BYD and Faurecia in 2017, majority owned by FORVIA.

This strategic move strengthens the global technical partnership developed between FORVIA and 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,” said Auteur Frank Huber, Executive Vice- President of Seating, FORVIA Group.

“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 15 years,” commented Patrick Koller, CEO of FORVIA.

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, which constitutes 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.

The FORVIA-BYD partnership 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 has an annual production capacity of 2.6 million seats and an R&D centre in Shenzhen.