Vitesco Technologies, a powertrain supplier spun off from Continental in 2019, is targeting electrified-vehicle parts as part of a renewed push to expand business in China.
The company produces components in four Chinese cities and operates seven R&D centers in the country.
In 2021, Vitesco recorded 8.3 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in global sales, of which roughly 18 percent was generated in China.
The German supplier predicts China will account for 35 percent to 40 percent of global light vehicle production in 2030.
“Therefore, we obviously plan to grow in this market,” Gregoire Cuny, Vitesco’s China president, told Automotive News China this month during a news briefing in Shanghai.
To drive growth, Vitesco has invested more than $516 million in China since 2019, Cuny said.
In 2021 alone, Vitesco opened a new R&D center in Tianjin to develop batteries, motors and electronic control systems for full electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles as well as 48-Volt systems for mild hybrid vehicles. It also added a lab in Changchun for product validation.
The company forecasts that electrified vehicles including EVs and plug-in hybrids will exceed traditional vehicles in global sales by 2027.