DETROIT -- Delphi Automotive CEO Rodney O'Neal worries a lot more about the trend by automakers to bring back in-house electronics parts production than whether an initial public offering is in Delphi's future.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Automotive News World Congress last week, O'Neal said he's talking with key customers such as General Motors Co. to try to convince them that Delphi remains the right choice for electronics, even on electric vehicles.
GM recently designated electric motors and other electronics as core powertrain systems on hybrids and electric vehicles and is building a plant in White Marsh, Md., to produce parts that traditionally would have been bought from suppliers, such as Delphi.
"It's not for me to tell my customer what's core and what's not. But I can make a compelling case about why I can do something better." He said Delphi can deliver electronics with the latest technology at low cost.
Despite a four-year bankruptcy that radically downsized Delphi, the company remains one of the world's largest suppliers of electronics, safety systems and telematics. It posted revenue of $11.76 billion in 2009, the year it was taken private by lenders who acquired the company as it emerged from bankruptcy.
Asked about rumors that Delphi might soon go public, O'Neal said he's concentrating on operations and those new shareholders will decide if and when an IPO makes sense.
