Autonomous Driving- Aptiv, A Near-Perfect Proxy

25 Jun 2018 14:35

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Aptiv, the auto components supplier spun out of Delphi Automotive in late 2017, is a company that has been painstakingly custom-crafted to leverage the ever-increasing interest and investment in autonomous driving. From its prescient partnership with MobilEye dating back to 2002 to the impressive string of investments, partnerships and acquisitions it completed since 2014, Delphi has methodically assembled an impressive technology portfolio encompassing a broad range of key capabilities at the heart of autonomous driving. The decision in 2017 to split into two separate companies, one focusing on legacy powertrain (Delphi Technologies), the other (Aptiv) on autonomous mobility, was the finishing touch to this multi-year journey of carefully choreographed steps to sculpting an auto-components leader with its sights set firmly on the future of mobility.

While Aptiv is not unique among components suppliers in recognising the significance of autonomous driving, they do bring a number of key advantages to the table. Firstly, sitting just outside the top ten players in terms of annual revenues, they are smaller, more agile and more focused. Secondly, their long-term partnership with MobilEye has aligned them with the leading supplier of ADAS globally- and has served to open the door into a crucial alliance with BMW and Intel, an alliance that continues to grow in breadth and scope. Finally, their strategic acquisitions have given them a broader portfolio of technologies, one that they have been quick to transform into a comprehensive suite of autonomous driving solutions.

For these reasons, as investment in autonomous driving continues to grow, Aptiv is better positioned than most to benefit. With a customer base which includes all 25 of the largest automotive OEM's globally, we view Aptiv as a near-perfect proxy for a nascent industry with enormous growth potential.