Valeo to pump €200 mln into India by 2028, aims to triple revenue to €700 mln
French auto parts maker also pushes beyond cars, betting on liquid-cooled data centers for India’s 5G and AI build-out
Last Updated: Feb 18, 2026, 16:14 IST3 min
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French automotive parts supplier Valeo will invest more than €200 million in India by 2028, largely in its plants at Sanand, Pune, and Chennai, as it targets a threefold jump in local revenue to about €700 million over the same period.
India currently contributes about 1 percent of Valeo’s global revenue, Christophe Périllat, the group’s chief executive officer, told a media roundtable in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The ambition, Périllat said, is to lift that share towards 10 percent in the coming years as the company rides a rapid shift in the country’s vehicle mix towards electrification, software and advanced safety systems.
“India is not just a volume market, it’s a high-tech market,” Périllat said. “It’s a fast-growing, fast-changing market, whether in fuel mix or body type.”
Périllat is in India as part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s official delegation.
Software Bet
The planned €200 million investment will be channelled primarily into Valeo’s power and “brain” divisions, the company’s shorthand for electrification and advanced driver-assistance systems, or ADAS. The company operates six production sites in India and a large R&D centre in Chennai, employing more than 7,000 people.
Valeo’s India operations span powertrain electrification, sensors, cameras, lighting and thermal systems, among others. It has a partnership with Mahindra to supply electric powertrains for a range of vehicles, along with on-board charger combo units. The partnership represents a total order value of close to $1 billion.
Group President and Managing Director of Valeo India Jayakumar G. said electric vehicle components already account for about 25 percent of the company’s power-division business in the country.
Globally, Valeo spends about 12 percent of its revenue on research and development, a ratio more common to technology firms than traditional auto suppliers. The Chennai R&D hub is one of its largest worldwide, underscoring the group’s intent to use India not only as a manufacturing base but also as a source of engineering and software talent.
Localisation is central to the strategy. Valeo works with more than 230 Indian suppliers and aims to manufacture in India nearly everything it sells locally, a hedge against shifting trade regimes and a way to stay close to customers whose vehicle programmes typically run for a decade or more.
Valeo doesn’t see any changes in its strategy with the India–EU FTA, as “trade agreements change but partnerships stay,” says Périllat.
Beyond Auto
The India push is no longer confined to cars.
Valeo is expanding into data-centre thermal management, betting that its expertise in cooling batteries and power electronics can translate into a new growth engine as India builds out 5G networks and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Through a strategic partnership with 2CRSi, Valeo is developing autonomous, immersion-cooled edge data-centre modules designed to operate in harsh outdoor conditions. The collaboration, established in November 2025, focuses on liquid-cooling solutions located close to telecom towers, a critical requirement for low-latency 5G deployments. Valeo provides the casing and thermal management for the servers, with pilot deployments expected by the year-end.
Data centres, Périllat said, represent “a big opportunity” as the industry shifts from air cooling to liquid cooling to cope with the heat generated by powerful new chips used in AI workloads. Valeo is also in discussions around larger, GenAI-focused data centres, though those projects extend beyond its current 2028 financial plan.
Global Footprint
While India is being groomed as a growth engine, China remains Valeo’s largest single market. About half of the company’s sales are generated there, and China accounts for roughly 17 percent of global revenue, reflecting both the scale and the competitive intensity of that market. Europe and North America remain core markets, but Périllat said the company’s “local-for-local” approach—operating with local teams, suppliers and R&D in each region—is what allows it to compete across geographies.
Périllat said the company is targeting €1 billion in India revenue in the years that follow, as electrification deepens, ADAS becomes mandatory through regulation, and software content per vehicle rises.
First Published: Feb 18, 2026, 16:19
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