Valeo has announced the acquisition of the German company Peiker, which is a major supplier of on-board telematics and mobile connectivity solutions. The acquisition will enable Valeo to widen its range of connectivity-related products.
Valeo's know-how in on-board electronics, enriched with Peiker's technological expertise, will allow the Group to offer automakers new telematics systems equipped with the high-speed connectivity and cybersecurity features that this high-growth market demands. These systems will notably feature innovative vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies, and be compatible with forthcoming LTE Advanced (4G+) mobile internet services.
"We are pleased to welcome the Peiker teams within Valeo. The exchanges held with experts at Peiker through a technological cooperation agreement formalised in early 2015 have been particularly fruitful. We attach great importance to technological culture developed over several decades by Andreas Peiker and his family. The portfolio of technologies, products and services Peiker is perfectly complementary with our vision of driving for the car of tomorrow, which will be autonomous, connected and intuitive. In addition, this acquisition strengthens Valeo's presence in Germany with the integration of 700 employees, including 150 highly qualified engineers," said Jacques Aschenbroich, CEO of Valeo.
In 2014, the Valeo Group posted a turnover of 12.7 billion euros while spending more than 10% of its total business in research and development. It employs 82,700 people in 30 countries in 135 production sites, 16 research centers, 35 development centers and 15 distribution platforms.