French automotive components manufacturer Valeo has acquired 80 per cent of the China-based lighting specialist Ruby.
Chery Technology, a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive manufacturer Chery Automobile, will retain a 20 per cent stake in the company, to be renamed Wuhu Valeo Automotive Lighting Systems.
The new joint venture will design, manufacture and sell Valeo Lighting Systems products—predominantly for Chery Automobile in the Chinese market—and will be integrated within Valeo’s Visibility Systems Business Group.
Based at Wuhu in Anhui province, Chery Automobile produces around 700,000 vehicles annually.
Commenting, Valeo CEO Jacques Aschenbroich said: "This operation is in line with Valeo's growth strategy in China and Asia, which represented 25 per cent of our original equipment sales in the third quarter of 2011 thanks to the acquisition of Niles, and should reach over 30 per cent by 2015, in line with the objectives presented in March 2011."
Headquartered in Paris, Valeo has 125 plants, 21 research centres, 39 development centres and 10 distribution platforms, and employs 67,900 people in 28 countries worldwide.
