Valmet Automotive
4 min read
Valmet Automotive (formerly known as Saab-Valmet) is a contract manufacturer and service provider for the automotive industry. The company offers services in automotive engineering, vehicle manufacturing, emobility solutions as well as in kinematic and convertible roof systems.[3]
Valmet Automotive’s focus areas of expertise are premium cars, convertibles, electric vehicles. The company has 6,000 employees in Finland, Germany, Poland and Spain. The headquarters are located in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The majority of the company is owned by Pontos Group and Finnish government-owned holding company Tesi. A minority shareholder is the market-leading EV battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology.
Contents
- 1 Expertise
- 2 History
- 3 Production
- 3.1 Present production
- 3.2 Past production
- 4 Gallery
- 5 References
- 6 External links
Expertise[edit]
In manufacturing, Valmet Automotive’s customer references include Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ford, Saab, Opel and Fisker.[4][5] Valmet Automotive has had electric vehicles in series production since 2009.
In 2012 Marussia Motors and Valmet Automotive announced an engineering and manufacturing agreement on B2 sports cars.[6][7]
In July 2012, Daimler AG and Valmet Automotive announced a manufacturing agreement for over 100,000 Mercedes-Benz A-Class vehicles at the Uusikaupunki, Finland, plant. Production began in August 2013. A contract for the production of the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class was announced in November 2015. Manufacturing preparations involved plant restructuring worth tens of millions of euros and the hiring of around 2000 more personnel. The GLC production started in February 2017.[8] In March 2017, Valmet Automotive announced the manufacturing contract with Daimler AG for the next generation Mercedes-Benz compact cars.[9]
In engineering, Valmet Automotive’s focus areas are EV (electric vehicle) solutions such as battery packs, and manufacturing engineering. The company offers components and complete vehicle projects.
The roof systems business line’s customer references include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Mini, Renault and Bentley. The engineering office is located in Osnabrück, Germany, and the manufacturing plant in Zary, Poland.
History[edit]
Saab-Valmet was established in 1968 as a joint venture of Finnish Valmet and Swedish Saab-Scania. The automotive plant was placed in Uusikaupunki, Finland. In 1992 Valmet became the sole owner, and the company was renamed Valmet Automotive in 1995. From 1999 to 2010, the sole owner was Metso, after which Finnish Industry Investment and Pontos Investments bought 34% of the company’s shares.[10] On November 4, 2010 Valmet Automotive bought Karmann´s roof-component sections in Osnabrück, Germany and Zary, Poland.[11] The acquisition made Valmet Automotive one of the three biggest roof system manufacturers in the world. In January 2017, CATL became a 23,08% minority stakeholder in the company,[12] the other shareholders being Pontos and Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment). Soon thereafter, in March 2017, Valmet Automotive concluded the acquisition of Semcon’s automotive engineering services in Germany and Spain, increasing its number of engineers to over 1000.
Production[edit]
Present production[edit]
- Mercedes-Benz (2013–present)
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W176) production started in August 2013[13]
- Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class (started in January 2017)
Past production[edit]
- Saab (1969–2003)
- Saab 95
- Saab 96
- Saab 99
- Saab 90
- Saab 900
- Saab 900 Convertible
- Saab 900 CD
- Saab 9000
- Saab 9-3 Convertible
- Specialized Saab 9-3 models (e.g. Viggen)
- Talbot (1979–1987)
- Talbot Horizon
- Talbot 1510
- Talbot Solara
- Opel (1991–1997)
- Opel Calibra
- Lada (1996–1998)
- Lada EuroSamara
- Porsche (1997–2011)[14]
- Porsche Boxster
- Porsche Cayman
- Garia electric golf car (2009–2011)
- Think electric car (2009–2011)
- Th!nk City [15]
- Fisker Automotive (2011–2012)
- Fisker Karma
Gallery[edit]
- Car models produced in Uusikaupunki, Finland
-
Saab 95
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Saab 96
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Saab 99
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Saab 90
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Saab 900 CD (Long Wheelbase Model)
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Saab 900 Convertible
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Saab 9-3
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Saab 9-3 Convertible
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Saab 9000
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Lada 21093 EuroSamara Baltic
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Talbot Horizon GL
-
Talbot Solara
-
Talbot 1510
-
Opel Calibra
-
Porsche Boxster
-
Porsche Cayman S
-
Th!nk City
-
Fisker Karma
-
Mercedes-Benz A-class
-
Mercedes-Benz GLC-class
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- Valmet Automotive company pages
Coordinates: 60°48′32″N 21°26′45″E / 60.80889°N 21.44583°E / 60.80889; 21.44583
