Valmet Automotive

Valmet Automotive Plc
Company type	Incorporation
Industry	Automotive industry,; contract manufacturing
Founded	1968; 56 years ago in Uusikaupunki, Finland
Headquarters	Uusikaupunki, Finland
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Pasi Rannus (CEO)
Products	Manufacturing service provider to the automotive industry; passenger car contract manufacturing, supplier for development and manufacturing of battery systems as well as a supplier for roof and kinematic systems
Services	Automotive contract manufacturing
Revenue	€2.2 billion (2023)
Net income	31.3 (2023)
Owners	Pontos Group (38%), Tesi (38%), Contemporary Amperex Technology (28%)
Number of employees	3,700
Website	www.valmet-automotive.com

Valmet Automotive is a Finnish vehicle contract manufacturer and supplier of battery, roof, and kinematic systems.^[3]

Valmet Automotive has manufactured over 1.8 million vehicles at its headquarters in Uusikaupunki, Finland. Its largest shareholders are the Finnish state investment company Tesi and Pontos Group, each holding a 38.46% stake, while China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) owns 23.08%.

Products

Valmet Automotive has three business lines: Vehicle Manufacturing, EV Systems, and Roof & Kinematic Systems.

In vehicle manufacturing, Valmet Automotive clients include Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Saab, Opel and Fisker.^[4]^[5] Valmet Automotive has produced electric vehicles since 2009. In July 2021, Valmet Automotive was selected to build long-range solar cars for Lightyear 0, which was later canceled.^[6] Valmet Automotive also announced a manufacturing contract with Sono Motors for the Sion model in 2022, which was also later canceled.

In July 2012, Daimler AG and Valmet Automotive announced a manufacturing agreement for the Mercedes-Benz A-Class for the Uusikaupunki plant, in Finland. Production began in August 2013. A contract for the production of the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class was announced in November 2015. The GLC production started in February 2017.^[7] In March 2017, Valmet Automotive announced the manufacturing contract with Daimler AG for the next generation Mercedes-Benz compact cars.^[8] While the production of the GLC ended in 2022, Valmet Automotive announced a manufacturing contract for the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé.

In the EV Systems business line, Valmet Automotive operates two battery pack production facilities in Salo, Finland, and in Uusikaupunki, Finland.^[9] The battery plant in Salo, Finland, started a large-scale production of 48-volt systems in 2019, and the expansion to include production of high-voltage batteries was completed in the summer of 2021. The battery plant in Uusikaupunki was opened in September 2021; high-voltage batteries for electric vehicles are manufactured there under one roof with vehicle production. A third battery plant in Kirchardt, Germany, is under construction and will open in 2022. Valmet Automotive also has sites for battery testing and engineering in Bad Friedrichshall, Weihenbronn, Munich and Turku (Finland).^[10]

In 2010, Valmet Automotive took over Karmann's roof business and continued operations at the Osnabrück, Germany, and Żary, Poland, sites. In 2016, Valmet Automotive expanded the Roof Systems business to include Kinematic Systems. Kinematic Systems develops and produces spoiler systems that reduce fuel consumption and extend the range of electrically powered vehicles. The product range also includes kinematic solutions for electric vehicles such as electric charging flaps. The Roof & Kinematic Systems business line's clients includes brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Mini (BMW Group), Bentley, McLaren Automotive and Porsche.^[11]

History

The Saab-Valmet Factory in 1986.

Saab-Valmet was established in 1968 as a joint venture of Finnish Valmet and Swedish Saab-Scania. The automotive plant was placed in Uusikaupunki, Finland, and assembled only Saabs for the first eleven years. Between 1979 and 1985, Valmet also assembled Talbots; a total of 31,978 such cars were built in Finland.^[12] Valmet was primarily interested in building the compact Simca-Talbot Horizon, but the French company required Valmet to also assemble the larger (and slow selling) 1307 before they would license the Horizon.^[13] Unlike Saabs, the Simca-Talbots were only meant for local consumption, although a clause in the contract allowed for the possibility of exports if parts made by the thirty local suppliers began to be exported to Talbot's main plants. Domestic parts content increased to thirty percent within a half year of manufacture commencing.^[13]

In 1992, Valmet became the sole owner, and the company was renamed Valmet Automotive in 1995. From 1999 to 2010, the sole owner was Metso, after which both Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi) and Pontos Investments bought 34% of the company's shares.^[14] On November 4, 2010, Valmet Automotive bought Karmann’s roof-component sections in Osnabrück, Germany, and Żary, Poland.^[15] In January 2017, CATL became a 23.08% minority stakeholder in the company,^[16] the other shareholders being Pontos and Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment).

Production

Valmet Automotive's present production includes Mercedes-Benz models (2013-present), with the Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W177) having started production in August 2018. Upcoming production will include the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé (X290), scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2023.

In the past, Valmet Automotive produced a range of vehicles, beginning with Saab models from 1969 to 2003. These included the Saab 95, 96, 99, 90, 900, 900 Convertible, 900 CD, 9000, and 9-3 Convertible. They also produced specialized Saab models like the Saab 9-3 Viggen, and the long-wheelbase Finnish domestic market versions of the Saab 99 and Saab 900 (known as the "Finlandia" 5D combi-coupe and as the Saab 900 CD in 4D Sedan form). These models were favored by Finnish municipal and federal governments, as well as major Finnish industrial corporations, as official executive vehicles.

From 1979 to 1987, Valmet produced vehicles for Chrysler/Talbot, including the Simca-Talbot Horizon, Simca 1307/1508, (Talbot 1510), and Talbot Solara. Between 1991 and 1997, they manufactured the Opel Calibra, and from 1996 to 1998, they produced the Lada EuroSamara. Between 1997 and 2011, Valmet worked with Porsche^[17] to manufacture the Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman. They also built the Garia electric golf car and the Think electric car (including the Th!nk City^[18]) from 2009 to 2011.

Other past projects include the Fisker Karma for Fisker Automotive from 2011 to 2012, and Mercedes-Benz models from 2013 onwards, such as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W176), produced from August 2013^[19] to 2018, and the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class (X253) from 2017 to 2022. They briefly produced the Lightyear 0 starting in November 2022, but the project was canceled in January 2023.^[20] ^[21]

Valmet also produced the Valmet Raceabout, a limited-series sports roadster.^[22] A notable canceled production includes Sono Motors' Sion, which was expected to begin production in late 2023 but was ultimately canceled.^[23]