Visteon Corporation is a leading global supplier of automotive systems, modules
and components to global vehicle manufacturers and the automotive aftermarket.
Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, we have global capabilities, with regional
headquarters in Kerpen, Germany; Shanghai, China; and S'o Paulo, Brazil. We have
a workforce of approximately 72,000 and a network of manufacturing sites, technical
centers, sales offices and joint ventures located in every major region of the
world.
Visteon operates in two business segments: Automotive Operations and Glass
Operations.
Automotive Operations: Visteon is a leading global supplier of automotive systems,
modules and components in the following product areas: climate control, interior,
exterior, powertrain, chassis and electronics. Our products are featured on
vehicles built by many leading automotive manufacturers, including Ford Motor
Company, General Motors, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen, Honda, Renault,
Nissan, Hyundai, Peugeot, Mazda and BMW.
Glass Operations: Our Glass Operations segment designs, produces and distributes
automotive glass products for Ford and aftermarket customers, and float glass
for commercial architectural and automotive applications.
Visteon was incorporated in Delaware in January 2000 as a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Ford. Ford subsequently transferred to Visteon the assets and liabilities
comprising its automotive components and systems business. Visteon separated
from Ford on June'28, 2000 when all of the common stock of Visteon was distributed
by Ford to its shareholders.
The automotive parts industry provides systems, modules and components to vehicle
manufacturers for the manufacture of new vehicles, as well as to the aftermarket
for use as replacement and enhancement parts. Historically, large vehicle manufacturers
operated internal divisions to provide a wide range of component parts for their
vehicles. More recently, vehicle manufacturers have moved toward a competitive
sourcing process for automotive parts, including increased purchases from independent
suppliers, as they seek lower-priced and/or higher-technology products. Demand
for aftermarket products tends to increase when vehicle owners retain their
vehicles longer, as these vehicles generally have a greater need for repairs.
When working with a customer, our goal is to understand the design intent and
brand image for each vehicle and leverage our extensive experience and innovative
technology to deliver products that enable the customer to differentiate the
vehicle. We support our components, systems and modules with a full-range of
styling, design, testing and manufacturing capabilities, including just-in-time
and in-sequence delivery.
Customers
Visteon sells its products primarily to global vehicle manufacturers. In addition,
we sell products for use as aftermarket and service parts to automotive original
equipment manufacturers and others for resale through their own independent
distribution networks.
Vehicle Manufacturers
Visteon sells to all of the world's largest vehicle manufacturers including
Ford, General Motors, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Volkswagen, Renault, Nissan,
Hyundai, Peugeot, Mazda and BMW. Ford is our largest customer,.
Aftermarket
We sell products to the worldwide aftermarket as replacement parts or as customized
products, such as body appearance packages and in-car entertainment systems,
for current production and older vehicles.
Competition
We conduct our business in a complex and highly competitive industry. The global
automotive parts industry principally involves the supply of systems, modules
and components to vehicle manufacturers for the manufacture of new vehicles.
Additionally, suppliers provide components to other suppliers for use in their
product offerings and to the aftermarket for use as replacement or enhancement
parts for older vehicles. As the supplier industry continues to consolidate,
the overall number of competitors has decreased and the automotive parts industry
remains extremely competitive. Vehicle manufacturers rigorously evaluate suppliers
on the basis of product quality, price competitiveness, technical expertise
and development capability, new product innovation, reliability and timeliness
of delivery, product design capability, leanness of facilities, operational
flexibility, customer service and overall management. Many of our competitors
have lower cost structures, particularly with respect to wages and benefits,
than our company.
Our overall product portfolio is extremely broad by industry standards. Very
few other Tier 1 suppliers compete across the full range of our product areas.
Visteon does have significant competition in each of its market segments; the
most significant competitors by segment are listed below.
Automotive Operations. Our principal competitors in the Automotive Operations
segment include the following: American Axle'& Manufacturing Holdings, Inc.;
Behr GmbH'& Co. KG; Robert Bosch GmbH; Dana Corporation; Delphi Corporation;
Denso Corporation; Faurecia Group; Johnson Controls, Inc.; Lear Corporation;
Magna International Inc.; Siemens VDO Automotive AG; TRW Automotive Corp.; and
Val'o S.A.
Glass Operations. Our principal competitors in the Glass Operations segment
include the following: Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.; AFG Industries, Inc.; Guardian
Industries Corp.; Pilkington plc; and PPG Industries, Inc.