Forvia to boost GWM's overseas growth

French automotive supplier Forvia is expanding its partnership with Great Wall Motor beyond China, seeking to support the Chinese carmaker's overseas expansion with its global industrial footprint and automotive technologies.

The two companies will broaden their collaboration to key international markets across innovation, industrial excellence, sustainability and supply chain resilience under an agreement signed earlier this week.

Forvia CEO Martin Fischer said Chinese automakers are emerging as major global players and reshaping competitive dynamics across the automotive industry.

"As they expand internationally, success will increasingly depend on the ability to combine local innovation with global execution. This is where Forvia brings distinctive value," Fischer said.

Forvia was formed in 2022 through the combination of French supplier Faurecia, established in 1914, and German automotive technology company Hella, founded in 1899.

Forvia operates across several product areas, including seating, clean mobility, electronics and lighting, saying its technologies are used in half of the world's vehicles.

Great Wall Motor has made global expansion a strategic priority. Its overseas sales reached 506,800 units in 2025, up 11.6 percent year-on-year.

The carmaker is stepping up efforts to establish local production capacity in overseas markets through plant construction and acquisitions.

Zhao Guoqing, Great Wall Motor's chief operating officer and chief supply chain officer, said a partner with an understanding of the Chinese market, as well as a global industrial footprint and deep technological expertise, is essential to the carmaker's international development.

China has become an increasingly important force in the global automotive market.

In 2023, it overtook Japan to become the world's largest vehicle exporter, shipping 4.91 million vehicles overseas.

In the first nine months this year, total exports rose to 8.2 million units, up 65.8 percent year-on-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The CAAM estimates that total exports this year will hit 10 million units this year.

As Chinese brands establish production facilities and sales networks abroad, global suppliers with local engineering capabilities and established international operations are becoming increasingly important partners, said analysts.