Forvia said on Friday that its first-quarter sales fell 2.2% on a constant currency basis as a steep drop in China weighed on results. Quarterly revenue declined to 5.14 billion euros, driven by a 23.5% contraction in the world’s second-largest economy.
The company attributed the deterioration in China to an unfavourable customer mix and "notably a significant drop in production at automaker BYD." Early trading in Paris saw Forvia shares slide about 2%.
Addressing the shift in demand patterns on a call with journalists, Forvia’s finance chief Olivier Durand said: "Recently, BYD’s growth rate has changed, so we have been driven by them, particularly in the last few years. However, there is now increased competition from other customers, so this is having an impact."
Despite the China setback, Forvia noted that it outperformed the 3.4% decline forecast for global automotive production, according to S&P Global Mobility forecasts published this month, and that it recorded growth in all other regions.
The company also reported a 2.2% increase in sales in its Clean Mobility business, which encompasses vehicle depollution activities for all non-electric vehicles. Forvia said that growth in this division was driven by activity with Stellantis and General Motors in North America.
Chief executive Martin Fischer said the company has continued progress toward the planned divestiture of its Interiors business. In a press release, he stated: "At the same time, we have continued to make progress on the planned divestiture of our Interiors business, which we expect to materialize in the near term."
Durand declined to comment on a Bloomberg News report that on Thursday said private equity firm Apollo was nearing a deal to buy the interiors business for about 1.4 billion euros.
On the strategic front, Durand confirmed that following Stellantis’ withdrawal from the Symbio joint venture, Forvia and Michelin will move to a 50-50 partnership. He added: "The execution of the plan will be swift, as we now have the Commercial Court’s homologation decision."
Forvia said it had seen no significant impact from turmoil in the Middle East and reiterated its 2026 guidance. The company also emphasized that, aside from the Chinese market, its regional performance showed growth, helping to partially offset the downturn in Asia.
Exchange note included in the report: $1 = 0.8563 euros.
Context and implications
The results highlight the sensitivity of suppliers to changes in customer production patterns in a major market and underline the role of customer concentration in regional results. While Forvia’s other businesses provided a counterweight, the China decline was large enough to produce an overall revenue drop on a constant currency basis.