According to the list published for the first time by France’s INPI industrial property institute, Valeo has been ranked the world's leading French patent applicant, with 1,913 patents filed in a year* – of which 53% were filed in France.

Valeo also came out in third place in the 2020 ranking of patent applicants in France, with 819 patents filed. Its innovations are now protected by a portfolio of almost 35,000 patents worldwide.

Jacques Aschenbroich, Valeo’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “This ranking demonstrates Valeo’s high capacity for innovation, the backbone of our strategy. All over the world, our teams create and design technologies that support cleaner, safer and smarter mobility, taking into account the specific features and requirements of local markets. France, which accounts for more than half of our patent filings, evidently remains the stronghold of our Research and Development activities.”

Among the 1,913 patents filed, 53% were filed in France, 21% in Germany, 8% in China, 5% in Japan, 3% in the United States, 2% in South Korea, 5% in Europe (excluding France and Germany) and 3% in the rest of the world.

Patents filed by Valeo in 2020 mainly concerned:

• 48V electrification systems, particularly those used in micro-mobility and new mobility solutions, such as bikes, electric three-wheelers, driverless shuttles and delivery droids;
• the new generation SCALA® – the only series-produced LiDAR in the world that is compliant with automotive standards and already in series production – key to automated driving;
• smart HVAC systems, which ensure thermal comfort for all in electric vehicles while preserving battery life;
• in-cabin air purification systems, which block allergens and viruses, transforming vehicles into “health shields”;
• smart lighting systems.
   

In 2020, Valeo’s Research and Development expenditure amounted to 1.66 billion euros, or 12% of the Group’s original equipment sales. Valeo has 63 R&D centers worldwide and some 20,000 R&D engineers among its more than 110,000 employees.

94% of the Group’s original equipment sales are derived from technologies that reduce CO2 emissions and improve safety, and 56% of orders received by the Group (including Valeo Siemens eAutomotive) last year were for technologies that did not exist three years ago.

Valeo is world leader in vehicle electrification and driving assistance solutions. One in three new vehicles worldwide is fitted with a Valeo technology that helps to reduce CO2 emissions, and one in four new vehicles is equipped with its driving assistance technology.

*in 2019