Valeo CEO emphasizes speed and AI as critical automotive industry drivers

Christophe Périllat, CEO of Valeo, has stated that speed has become a vital new raw material for the automotive industry. Speaking at the Paris Automotive Summit, Périllat argued that the sector must transition from its traditional, methodical ‘Swiss watch’ model to a faster pace dictated by software and artificial intelligence.

To maintain competitiveness, Valeo is focusing on four strategic areas: innovation, industrialization, supply chain resilience, and accelerated decision-making. The company is already integrating AI into its workflows, with over 35% of code validated by its 7,700 software engineers being AI-generated. Périllat noted that this strategy has already yielded results in China, where a headlight design was moved from conception to mass production in just seven months, reducing development time by two-thirds.

Additionally, Périllat called for European regulatory bodies to accelerate their pace to match the rapid technological and geopolitical shifts currently reshaping the global market.