BMW and French seat-maker Faurecia have signed a deal this week for six million vehicles. This order represents the highest single order intake ever for Faurecia in terms of sales volume. The contract includes just-in-time (JIT) assembly for 7 vehicles, as well as seat structures for 10 vehicles on two major platforms: MINI and BMW 2 Series. In order to reduce the number of interfaces and complexity, BMW opted for a vertical integration strategy, entrusting key components such as frames, covers and foams to Faurecia, the current supplier for the JIT business.
Seats account for 5% of a vehicle’s total cost and 6% of its weight. As a result, they represent the second largest expense for automakers. Faurecia Automotive Seating is a leader in the design, development and manufacture of automotive seating.
Thorsten Muschal, Executive Vice-President Sales and Program Management at Faurecia declared: As an industry leader in seat frames and mechanisms, Faurecia is proud to be one of BMW s preferred partners and to equip such iconic vehicles. Faurecia was awarded this business based on its strong customer intimacy and its strong capabilities for vertical integration and development synergies.
