Faurecia's Koller inking future-focused alliances

Patrick Koller, CEO of Faurecia since 2016, has led the French supplier of seating, interiors and clean mobility through a period of growth, most notably acquiring Japanese electronics company Clarion this year. He has established collaborations with Michelin, Microsoft and ZF Friedrichshafen. Koller, 60, talked with Automotive News Europe Correspondent Peter Sigal about how Faurecia is staying ahead of the technology curve. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: Faurecia recently signed a collaboration agreement with Microsoft to provide digital services for the "cockpit of the future." What are some of those services?

A: We want to propose new consumer experiences inside the cockpit. So far, we have selected two areas: immersive gaming and the mobile office. We are also working on being able to upgrade functionalities over the air. I have spent a significant amount of time with Microsoft executives to make sure our vision is aligned, to see how to create mutual value through a flexible, agile cooperation, and developing innovations with a short time to market.

Will you sell to automakers or directly to consumers?

Both. We will need to have not only innovative products, but also innovative business models.

In what way?

Today, automakers are selling, for example, sound systems that have an acceptable level of sound for different types of music. But for someone focused on a certain type of music, such as opera, they won't get the best sound quality for this particular music type. Our proposal is to upgrade the sound system with settings for the kind of music you like. And we also have the option to increase the number of surfaces we activate for sound.

It's the same thing for the seats. We can install functionalities — massage for example — that can be activated over the air. Today, all of these functionalities are frozen when a consumer orders the vehicle for the entire life cycle of the car. But people are now used to getting upgrades over the air because that's how their smartphones work. Fewer and fewer people will accept such "frozen" functionalities. We will have to adapt to this. You could also add functionalities in the dealership after purchase, such as a smart headrest.

Clarion is a well known consumer name. What does it bring to Faurecia?

Our vision for the cockpit is that it will be connected, personalized and immersive. So far, interior functionalities are related to modules and systems. For example, you have to independently adjust your seat, the air conditioning or the air vents. If you want to provide new individualized experiences, you have to think differently and combine functionalities. To do this, you need to have capabilities in algorithms, artificial intelligence and electronics. Our new business group, Faurecia Clarion Electronics, brings us those skills.

What areas will this business cover?

We have defined five product lines that will enable us to develop these experiences: the cockpit domain controller; immersive sound systems; interior monitoring systems; displays and human-machine interface technologies; and advanced driver assistance systems.

Faurecia is working on a joint venture with Michelin on hydrogen fuel cells. How will that business develop?

Our joint venture is a company called Symbio, which can equip cars with a complete fuel cell system: the fuel cell stacks, the interfaces and the electronics to manage performance. Symbio will immediately offer a unique range of hydrogen fuel cell systems for all use cases.

Faurecia is developing high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks. While we are complementary to Michelin, they have also developed different business models, such as selling tires by the kilometer. We could propose something similar, selling "hydrogen hours" for the whole system.

What is the potential for this sector?

We are convinced that the fuel cell vehicle market will grow, as it is the only complementary alternative to batteries. But it's difficult to estimate when the market will take off, so having a joint venture will limit our risk.

How do you see the seating market developing?

Safety is the key driver. For example, if you want the seat to swivel, you need to integrate the airbag and seat belt anchor into the seat. We also believe the cockpit will be more predictive. Sensor technology will be integrated into the seats to monitor the occupants. The vehicle will be able to anticipate your postural comfort, sound preferences and adjust the temperature, for example. So, there will be increasingly sophisticated design of the seats. This is an area in which we have particular expertise through our acquisition of Clarion.

Has there been a shift in the thinking about autonomous driving, that perhaps many people were too optimistic?

I think the future will be autonomous, just because the benefits for society will be huge. You will have fluid traffic, fewer infrastructures, you will consume less energy, and you will have fewer accidents. We will get there, but the complexity might have been underestimated.