Visteon Corp.'s sales in China will continue to grow at a rate three times the increase of local vehicle output as automakers equip more vehicles with advanced cockpit electronics, CEO Sachin Lawande said.
In 2015, China revenue contributed $680 million (4.5 billion yuan) to the company's global revenue, up 18 percent from a year earlier.
After selling its HVAC division, the U.S. supplier has narrowed its product lineup to cockpit electronics.
Visteon expects to increase annual global revenue to $4.3 billion by 2020, up from $3.2 billion last year.
"Our goals for China are even more aggressive than the goal for the rest of the world," Lawande said. "Our expectation is we will [grow] at a rate three times the rate of auto production in China."
IHS Automotive, a consultancy, predicts China's auto output will increase 5 percent annually over the next few years. By comparison, Lawande said Visteon's annual sales will rise 15 percent.
Many vehicles produced in China do not have advanced cockpit electronics, according to Lawande. "There is a big opportunity to upgrade the electronic content in cars in China," he said.
Currently, most of Visteon's revenue in China is generated by just two of six product lines -- instrument clusters and audio.
Visteon plans to market four other product lines -- head-up display, information displays, infotainment and connectivity -- to automakers in China, Lawande said.
"This of course will require investment from our side -- investment in engineering as well as manufacturing," he added.
Visteon has 10 plants, four technical centers and 700 engineers in China. The company's China unit soon will double its engineering staff, Lawande said.
"We also expect to grow our capacity as we grow our business in China," Lawande said, but he did not provide details about the company's plans for expanded production.
Source:Automotive News China