Global Auto Parts Company Comes to Daegu... French Valeo Decides Large-Scale Investment in Autonomous Driving Sector

Global Top 8 Auto Parts Companies Invest $56 Million in Daegu National Industrial Complex, Create 110 New Jobs

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[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yeo Jong-gu] The global automotive parts company Valeo of France has decided on a large-scale investment in Daegu for its autonomous driving business.

On the 26th at 2 p.m., Daegu City will sign an investment attraction agreement with Valeo (CEO Christopher Perriet) at the Sangeok Office of Daegu City Hall.

Through this investment agreement, Valeo will establish a foreign-invested corporation, Valeo Mobility Korea, in Daegu and invest a total of 56 million USD (approximately 72.8 billion KRW) aiming for mass production in 2024.

They plan to develop and mass-produce ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) autonomous driving perception sensors and steering sensors on a 4,000-pyeong site for future vehicles within Phase 1 of the Daegu National Industrial Complex.

The background of this investment decision greatly involved Daegu’s excellent locational advantages such as top-level infrastructure for autonomous vehicle demonstration and R&D in Korea, scalability linked to ABB industries like robotics, AI, and big data, accessibility to customers, and a stable labor-management environment.

Founded in 1923, Valeo is a global automotive parts company headquartered in France, with 184 manufacturing plants, 64 R&D centers, and 16 distribution platforms across 31 countries worldwide.

The relationship with Daegu began in 1988 with the establishment of the joint venture Pyeonghwa Valeo with Pyeonghwa Clutch Industry. In 2017, they expanded their business by launching the joint venture Carpec Valeo with Korea Powertrain.

These two companies, manufacturers of powertrain and torque converters, have been selected as one of Daegu’s top 100 companies for three consecutive years and have played a significant role in forming Daegu’s future mobility (electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles) value chain.

Valeo is composed of four business areas: Safety Driving Assistance System (CDA), Powertrain System (PTS), Thermal System (THS), and Vision System (VIS).

Among these, the CDA division, which accounts for 20% of Valeo’s total sales, is responsible for R&D and mass production of automotive electronic parts such as LiDAR, ultrasonic sensors, radar sensors, vehicle cameras, and controllers, which are key ADAS components for autonomous vehicles.

The decision to invest in Daegu by the CDA division is expected to have effects such as import substitution through localization of advanced autonomous driving parts, collaboration with domestic materials and parts companies, development of core module and equipment technologies, fostering of domestic key parts manufacturers, and technical support for parts production to 35 local partner companies.

Steve Smudya, CEO of Valeo ADAS Business Unit, said, “Daegu has an excellent automotive parts production base and a well-established industry-academic cooperation system, so we plan to collaborate with Keimyung University and promote local internships for graduate students (Korea Europe Valeo) programs.” He added, “We will concentrate Valeo’s capabilities and technology investments to ensure the successful development of new businesses for Valeo Mobility Korea.”

Hong Jun-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, said, “Daegu City will spare no support for new investment projects,” and added, “We expect that this will contribute to revitalizing the local economy through technical support with local partner companies, joint entry into global markets, nurturing and hiring local talent, and at the same time faithfully serve as a driving force leading Daegu’s future mobility industry.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.