Valeo Innovation Challenge targets revolutionary solutions for cars of 2030

Paris, January 21, 2014: Engineering students around the world have less than a month to take part in the global Valeo Innovation Challenge. Projects must be submitted to the contest’s dedicated website by February 14, 2014. Participants can sign up now at the Valeo Innovation Challenge website https://valeoinnovationchallenge.valeo.com

The goal of the Valeo Innovation Challenge is to design equipment that, between now and 2030, will make cars more intelligent and intuitive. Participating students must develop bold, revolutionary solutions for the cars of 2030.

To date, 182 teams of engineering students from 31 countries have signed up for the contest and people from over 129 countries have connected to the Valeo Innovation Challenge website.

On April 15, 2014, the 20 teams shortlisted by the Valeo experts will be named and each team will get 5,000 euros (Rs 4.18 lakh) to create a functioning prototype. The three teams that submit the most innovative projects will be chosen on September 17, 2014 and will present their project to a jury chaired by Jacques Aschenbroich, Valeo CEO, and comprised of members of the Group’s senior management team as well as eminent figures from the worlds of science and design. The jury will designate the winning team, which will receive €100,000 (Rs 83 lakh), with the second and third-place teams each receiving €10,000.

Valeo says most of its R&D is focused on the design of technologies that reduce motor vehicle carbon emissions and promote intuitive driving. The company ranks among the leading patent filers in France and dedicates nearly 10 percent of its original-equipment revenue to innovation. With close to 9,000 researchers in 20 research centres and 36 development centres around the world, Valeo says it has developed an array of innovative products and technologies that represent more than 30 percent of orders.

The Valeo Group plans to hire some 1,000 engineers and technicians a year over the next three years, including 400 in France. The Group has 124 plants, 12 distribution platforms and employs 75,300 people in 29 countries worldwide. In 2012, Valeo generated revenue of €11.8 billion (Rs 98,813 crore) and invested €1 billion (Rs 8,374 crore) in research and development.