PARIS — After Faurecia’s acquisition of a controlling stake in Hella, the combined company will be known as Forvia, the two suppliers said Monday.
Faurecia and Hella will continue to operate as two separate legal entities, and will sell products under each brand name, they said. They will communicate under the Forvia name, however.
The Forvia name combines the words “forward” and “via,” the news release said, and “is about the movement and the necessary agility as well as the newly combined group’s commitment, confidence and action.”
“This new name reflects core elements of our Faurecia and Hella brands, as well giving a good translation of our shared purpose – inspiring mobility,” Faurecia CEO Patrick Koller said.
Hella said Friday that CEO Rolf Breidenbach would leave his position by June 30 but would continue in an advisory role.
Faurecia’s 5.3 billion euro ($5.95 billion) acquisition of the stake in Hella was finalized at the end of January, after the French interiors supplier won a bidding war for the German lighting, sensor and power electronics specialist.
Faurecia now holds 79.5 percent of Hella. The deal included 60 percent of Hella shares from a pool of family shareholders, and 19.5 percent from the settlement of a public takeover offer.
The combined company will have more than 150,000 employees, including more than 35,000 engineers, with a presence in more than 40 countries.
Based on 2020 sales, it will rank eighth on Automotive News Europe’s list of the top 100 global automotive suppliers, with combined sales of about $24 billion, just behind Hyundai Mobis, with sales of $25.1 billion.
Faurecia itself was formed in 1998 from the merger of seating supplier Bertrand Faure and ECIA, the parts division of Peugeot-Citroen. It was divested from PSA ahead of the merger with Fiat Chrysler that formed Stellantis in January 2021.
