Faurecia acquires CLD. A step forward towards hydrogen-based mobility in China

The global automotive player Faurecia has acquired the Chinese CLD, a leading manufacturers of hydrogen tanks. The closing was completed at the end of April 2021, and is aimed at further energizing Faurecia’s momentum for hydrogen mobility in China, as stated by the global company. As a matter of fact, since Faurecia announced the acquisition project in February, CLD has been awarded from mainstream Chinese OEMs like SAIC for a large fleet of different models of commercial vehicles.

The new Faurecia CLD, specializing in Type IV hydrogen tanks

Headquartered in ShenYang, CLD has around 200 employees and 2 plants in Liaoning with a capacity of 30,000 tanks per year. The company, which is already an established and recognized player providing homologated hydrogen tanks to leading Asian commercial and light vehicle automakers, has been recently certified by the Chinese central government as the first domestic producer of Type IV hydrogen tanks. More into details, Type IV tanks are lighter and thus better suited to mobility applications compared to Type III tanks, which use an aluminum liner instead of a plastic one. It’s good to remind that the ambitious Chinese government’s objective by 2030 is to have one million hydrogen-powered vehicles in operation.

The will to confirm a leading position in the market

«We are glad to open a new chapter and firmly believe that by combining the strengths of both companies, Faurecia CLD will confirm its leading position and competitive advantage in the fast-growing Chinese market», said Alban Brisset, General Manager of Faurecia Zero Emission China.