On December 6, DRiV Incorporated -a global leading supplier in ride performance and the global vehicle aftermarket- celebrated the official opening of its new Asia Pacific headquarters. The new Asia headquarters, located in Yangpu District of Shanghai, will lay a solid foundation for DRiV’s further development in the Asia Pacific region, especially in China. DRiV global CEO Mr. Brian Kesseler, Vice Mayor of Yangpu District Mr. Zhao Liang, the US Consul General in Shanghai Mr. Sean Stein, and Executive Vice President, President of APAC of DRiV Mr. Jay Kunkel, with other guests participated in the opening ceremony to witness the milestone.

 (Pictured from left to right, Jonathan J. Crawford, Economic Officer of US Consulate General in Shanghai; Jay Kunkel, Executive Vice President, President of APAC of DRiV; Brian Kesseler, global CEO of DRiV; Sean Stein, the US Consul General in Shanghai; Zhao Liang, Vice Mayor of Yangpu District; Gong Shunming, Director of Business Committee of Yangpu District)

New start with combined advantages

On Oct.1, 2018, Tenneco Inc. (NYSE: TEN), one of the world’s leading designers, manufacturers and makers of Ride Performance and Clean Air products and technology solutions for automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment markets and the aftermarket, announced that it has completed its acquisition of Federal-Mogul LLC, a leading global supplier to original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket. And the closing of the deal will be followed by a separation of the combined company into two independent, publicly-traded companies sometime next year. Of the two spin-offs, the Aftermarket and Ride Performance company is named DRiV while the remaining Tenneco businesses, which will focus on powertrain systems technology, retains the Tenneco name.

After the acquisition of Federal-Mogul, Tenneco acquired Öhlins Racing A.B. (“Öhlins”), a Swedish technology company that develops premium suspension systems and components for the automotive and motorsport industries. The addition of Öhlins will accelerate Tenneco’s R&D of advanced original equipment (OE) intelligent suspension solutions and shorten the time to market. With the separation of Tenneco, Öhlins has become an integral part of DRiV and will enhance DRiV’s product portfolio with its wide range of premium OE and aftermarket automotive and motorsports performance products.

With the combined advantages of Tenneco, Federal-Mogul and Öhlins, DRiV consists of two main businesses, the Aftermarket Business and the Original Equipment Business. Its Aftermarket Business, known as “Motorparts”, designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of brand-name products in the global vehicle aftermarket within seven product categories including shocks and struts, steering and suspension, braking, sealing, engine, emissions and maintenance.

The original equipment business, known as “Ride Performance”, focuses on developing, manufacturing and supplying leading global original equipment manufacturers with shock absorbers, struts, NVH performance materials and brake pads.

Brian Kesseler, Chief Executive Officer, DRiV

“With annual revenues of over 6 billion dollars, DRiV is one of the largest global multi-line, multi-brand aftermarket companies, and one of the largest global OE Ride Performance and braking companies. We design, manufacture and distribute various kinds of products for light vehicles, commercial vehicles and other mobility market. DRiV has a solid foundation that reaches from the Model T to the Model E, and boasts 31 of the best known and respected aftermarket brands, 14 of which have more than 100 years history,” said Brian Kesseler, CEO, DRiV. 

Its industry-leading brands and product portfolio as well as the global business scale and the long-term partnership with top global manufacturers, have given DRiV incomparable advantages, which are conducive for the company to capturing more market shares in the Americas, in Europe, in the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”), as well as in the rapidly growing emerging markets in the Asia Pacific region, particularly China.

DRiV is committed to improve ride experience via high technologies and solutions and supply the aftermarket and its OE customers with innovative technologies, premium quality and excellent service. With more than 31,000 team members across the world, DRiV will leverage teamwork for better Ride Performance and help customers to gain the most pleasure from every vehicle, every ride, every race, every journey.

New strategy and more investment in China

Though China’s automotive market saw slow growth in the past two years, it still has great growth potential as the world’s largest automotive market. The average age of VIO in China was estimated less than 5 years in 2015 but is forecasted to be up to 6.7 years in 2025, which will bring a sustainable and significant increase in China’s aftermarket.

DRiV views China as an important growth driver of its global business so that the company has made a substantial investment in China following the transaction that created DRiV in 2018. Its decision to locate the Asia Pacific headquarters in Shanghai reflects its commitment to China. There is no doubt that the company will further invest in China during coming years to strengthen its capabilities in commercial operations, technology and manufacturing development.

Jay Kunkel, Executive Vice President, President APAC of DRiV

Jay Kunkel, Executive Vice President APAC of DRiV, revealed that “We have set up a factory in Changzhou to serve the OE customers, and a new factory for the aftermarket is slated to start construction near Shanghai in the coming six months. We are also investing in manufacturing facilities in Wuhan and Chongqing for braking business. Ultimately, investment in the capacity expansion will increase gradually to cope with increasing market demands.”

DRiV has a strong presence in China. Both Tenneco and Federal-Mogul are main players in China’s automotive market before the acquisition. Tenneco China was headquartered in Shanghai before the deal and its R&D centre in China has become one of the most important centres for the company, whose capability is comparable with that of those in the U.S and Germany. Like the situation of Tenneco, Federal-Mogul’s Asia Pacific headquarters was also in Shanghai, where the company also established an engineering centre to serve its customers in China and in Asia. With the combined strength of both parties of product portfolio, extensive market experience and relatively comprehensive production and distribution system, DRiV is well-positioned to enhance its competitiveness in China.

DRiV has an engineering centre in Beijing and Chongqing respectively, two manufacturing facilities in Pinghu and Wuhan respectively, as well as distribution centres in Kunshan, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shanghai. With its multi-line products and flexible distribution system, DRiV serves their OE and aftermarket customers with differentiated products and solutions to meet their requirements.

Besides traditional channel, DRiV has established full-B2C channel coverage including Tuhu, JD, Tmall, and is going to engage in B2B channel. DRiV also provides online licensing for dealers on Tmall. More new products and innovative services will be created and launched for online and offline customers separately in line with their different requirements.

With the expertise of DRiV team on product, technology and installation solution, DRiV can serve the customers in China by tailored strategies like the channel development cooperation, technician education capability and innovative manufacturing technology. The company expects further growth in China through brand building, distributor development and supply chain footprint.

About DRiV

Following Tenneco Inc.’s (NYSE: TEN) expected separation to form two independent companies, an Aftermarket and Ride Performance company (DRiV™) as well as a new Powertrain Technology company, DRiV will be one of the largest global multi-line, multi-brand aftermarket companies, and one of the largest global OE Ride Performance and braking companies.  DRiV’s principal product brands will feature Monroe®, Öhlins®, Walker®, Clevite® Elastomers, MOOG®, Fel-Pro®, Wagner®, Ferodo®, Champion® and others. DRiV would have 2018 pro-forma revenues of $6.4 billion, with 54% of those revenues from aftermarket and 46% from original equipment customers.