Lear’s new 28,000 sq m multi-story centre is to include the expansion of the company’s administrative infrastructure, a new product and technology centre, industry-leading product development capabilities with state-of the-art engineering and testing equipment, and a new Lear innovation studio for Asia. According to Lear, it will support the company’s continued rapid sales growth and development of new business in China and throughout Asia.
“The Asia-Pacific region is the most strategically important region for the global automotive industry, and Shanghai is a major centre for automotive activity,” said Matt Simoncini, President and CEO. “Over the past three years, Lear’s sales in China have grown at an average annual rate of 10%. Our new regional headquarters complex in Shanghai will support industry-leading product development, testing and customer service in one convenient location that includes administrative, engineering, product development, program management, sales and marketing and other technical personnel”, he added.
The new Asia headquarters will support approximately 31,000 Lear employees in eleven countries in Asia, of which around 22,000 in China alone.
Lear manufactures products in Asia at 64 locations and has engineering teams at 16 locations throughout the region. In 2015, Lear’s Asia consolidated sales grew to US$3.2 billion. The Group also supports Asia through 17 unconsolidated joint ventures in the region, whose 2015 sales were about US$2 billion, bringing its total sales in Asia last year to US$5.2 billion.
As previously reported by ILM, Lear’s global net sales for the full year 2015 were up 6% to US$14.1 billion in the seating division with adjusted segment earnings of US$994 million, representing 7.1% of sales.
The new modern facility in China will showcase the company’s leading products in automotive seating and electrical systems, including Lear’s intelligent seat, industry-leading craftsmanship as well as products for electrical and hybrid vehicles, industry-leading electrical distribution systems and the latest in vehicle communication and connectivity capabilities.
Lear’s fast expansion includes a new manufacturing plant located in the town of Matamoros, Mexico, to be operational by November 2016 and expected to generate around 7,000 jobs. Read more here.
