“Following reinforcement in 2024, our organisation is ready to accelerate its growth”

Jacques Fils: Aisin Corporation was created in 2020 from the merger between Aisin and Aisin Warner, a joint venture created in 1969 with BorgWarner around automatic gearbox technology. While AW's main client in Asia was Toyota, the joint venture was historically created for Volvo, with a large European client base (Volvo, BMW, Volkswagen, Stellantis, etc.). We are therefore a multi-brand OE company. As well as automatic gearboxes, we also manufacture clutches, braking systems and so on. Initially, we manufactured these products for Japanese vehicles, but we now have agreements with European manufacturers.

J. F.: Before the merger, the aftermarket business accounted for 1% of the Group's total sales. Our long-term objective is to increase this to around 10% for each market covered. It's a real change of philosophy for our group, whose culture was very much focused on OE supply. Aisin's strategy now is to provide an aftermarket solution covering the entire European vehicle fleet, including the profit-generating independent aftermarket, and to penetrate the market with a very broad offering, including the launch of a range of tyres, batteries, and so on.

J. F.: Yes, but it's not yet available for Europe, where we already have a lot of development potential with our portfolio covering seven product families [see box]. We can't put our energies today into all the ranges of the parent company, which, with its well-known brand in Japan, is well placed to sell a wide range of products.

J. F. : Yes, by exploiting market synergies. For example, Africa is managed out of our Dubai office, where there is a strong need for transmission spare parts - mainly for Toyota models - because African fleets include a lot of pick-ups. In practice, there are countries with higher demand than others (North Africa, South Africa, etc.), but we cover the whole of the African continent.

J. F.: The decision was taken in 2018 to accelerate the development of the aftermarket in Europe, but Aisin had already been there for 35 years. Today, we supply seven product families to the aftermarket, with a major focus on transmissions, which until now have only been available to the OE market. At Automechanika, we presented a gearbox repair kit offering bearing the ‘made in Europe’ and OE origin stamp, which we intend to expand further.

J. F.: Türkiye, Poland and Greece are our three main markets, mainly because of the large number of Japanese brands on the road. So, yes, we are a premium supplier, but we are also able to offer very competitive, well-positioned prices, including in these countries with lower purchasing power. Today, our aim is to continue to develop in the south of Europe, with the Iberian peninsula, Italy and France in our Top 4, but above all in private labels. And finally, through a partnership with major retail groups, we hope to expand mainly in the UK and Spain, where there is considerable growth potential..

J. F.: We centralised our IAM activities at our Mons facility in Belgium, which houses not only an OE production plant but also 95% of Aisin's European inventory across all brands (Aisin, Advics and Art). This reinforcement of the European bases should contribute to improving the availability rate and delivery times for spare parts for technologies produced as original equipment. It takes time to overhaul a supply chain, but we have already made significant progress in reducing our internal lead times (from receipt of goods to dispatch of orders) from 17 to six days. In 2024, we analysed product families and markets to strengthen our sales processes, so that we can focus on development in 2025. We have defined the four product families in which we want to increase our market share (braking, clutches, pump systems and gearboxes), with a targeted approach by market and very precise penetration targets.

J. F.: While our distribution network is still based on regional/national companies, we are now also listed with ITGs such as Autodistribution International and Temot, as well as international distributors such as LKQ Europe and Inter Cars.

J. F.: We deploy different approaches depending on the country. In Asia, for example, we target one or two loyal local distributors who become responsible for developing the range. Our commitment in a country can go as far as a shareholding in a distributor, the creation of Aisin-branded shops developed as franchises, or simple sales target agreements. We are very flexible.

J. F.: We're building an eAxle factory - which means electric motors - in Czechia for a European manufacturer. And on our Mons site, we will be producing the electronic boards for electric water pumps (the cooling system for European electric cars). However, just when we thought we would be able to switch more quickly to electric technologies and ease up on internal combustion, the market's hesitations are undermining the timing of this switch. Today, we are seeing new opportunities in internal combustion, with manufacturers asking for certain models to be extended. It’s a complicated leap, but a promising one.

J. F.: The availability problems at our plants have been resolved. The milestones in our development plan are very positive, as are the discussions with our clients. 2025 is shaping up to be an excellent year for Aisin Aftermarket.