Although sluggish sales and wavering government support have cast a general shadow over the EV market, one segment has continued to enjoy healthy growth. The bus market – in particular, the market for urban buses – has experienced a rapid recovery from the slump during COVID-19, and operators and local authorities in Europe’s cities are resolutely backing battery electric over all other options available. As far as Valeo is concerned, the electric bus market is set to keep on expanding, not just in Europe but in other parts of the world as well. Having built up a great deal of expertise and capabilities in supplying components to automotive EVs, the French group is now ready to turn its attention to commercial vehicles, using its competitive scale and global reach to acquire a sizeable share of the market.

The joint venture will acquire Valeo’s Indian lighting business, operating currently under Valeo Lighting Systems (VLS).

Valeo will use the new site to produce sensors and lidars for use in advanced driver assistance and self-driving systems, not only for the Chinese market but for global automotive customers.

This strategic move underscores Valeo’s commitment to supporting India’s electric mobility transition.

With Rohm’s technology, Valeo aims to develop a new generation of power modules for electric motor inverters which will go into electric vehicles in multiple segments, from e-bikes to e-trucks.

On its website, Spheros is promoting thermal management products for various applications, including buses, refrigerated vehicles, and e-mobility.

Valeo says it will also be partnering with Seeing Machines to offer a “best-in-class” full system for interior sensing, available to the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments.

Valeo has owned the site through its subsidiary, ‘Ferentino Automotive Transition Srl’, since 1974, using it to produce HVAC components for Italian OEMs.

The new Power division will gradually take over the activities and product portfolios of the existing Powertrain Systems and Thermal Systems divisions.

With Google Cloud generative AI, Valeo will overhaul its processes for vehicle component design, production, and integration, as well as its quality assurance and customer services.

The Satellite Technical Centre is to focus on end-to-end software, system engineering, electronics, and mechanical engineering, addressing core market trends in electrification, autonomous driving, and reinvention of interior equipment, notably lighting systems.

The ‘Thermo HV’, which is designed specifically for electric vehicles, accommodates an input voltage between 600 and 875 volts and delivers a variable heat output of up to 12 kW.