The challenges of Martin Fischer, new boss of Forvia

Martin Fischer remains undaunted. When Michel de Rosen, chairman of the board of directors of Forvia, offered him the position of CEO of France's leading automotive supplier, the German gave up his American life. Back in Europe and its depressed market: on this side of the Atlantic, car sales are still 20% below their pre-Covid-19 level. The 54-year-old engineer, who took up his post on March ¹ , hasn't lost his optimism, however. Based at Forvia's headquarters, an unassuming building on Rue des Champs-Pierreux in Nanterre Préfecture, he takes the situation with a certain sense of humor.

"I worked in Toulouse for eight or nine months at the beginning of my career, " he says in French. "One day when I was complaining about the delay in getting a computer, a colleague asked me: 'Do you know why the rooster is the emblem of France?' The answer: 'Because even with its feet in the shit, it crows.' He learned his lesson, displaying his good humor, unlike his predecessor, Patrick Koller, who was known for his anger. A touchy temperament which, combined with the collapse of the stock market price, led the board of directors to accelerate his departure by a year.

When talking about Forvia, the boss switches to English. The company he leads is facing, like the entire sector, a triple problem: the electrification of cars , the shift in growth from Europe to China, and the Trump administration's tariffs. But it has an additional and specific one: a crushing debt that it must quickly resolve. Forvia was in fact born in 2022 from the acquisition by the equipment manufacturer Faurecia (number one in car seats) of the German company Hella (electronic components, software, and lighting). Faurecia was for a long time a subsidiary of PSA, which became Stellantis. Volkswagen is now its largest customer with 16% of its turnover, followed by Stellantis and Ford at 8%. Forvia does not provide details on its Chinese customers, but Martin Fischer highlights this strong point of the group: "21% of sales are in China, where we are the fifth largest equipment manufacturer." He has already visited there twice this year. He intends to support Chinese manufacturers who will come to produce in Europe.

You have 48.67% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.