Valeo has taken first place in France’s 2016 Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) industrial property institute rankings, with 994 patents published in 2016 versus 668 in 2015, where the company placed third. The company says the achievement helps to consolidate its technological leadership. In addition, Valeo filed 612 patents in 2016 European Patent Office (EPO).

Valeo says its move up the INPI rankings illustrates the importance of innovation in the group’s strategy, particularly its drive to reduce CO2 emissions and develop intuitive driving.

In 2016, Valeo’s R&D budget amounted to 1.596 billion euros ($1.72 billion USD), representing around 11 percent of its OE sales (net expenditure of 5.8 percent of the group’s sales). The company says its patented innovations demonstrate its commitment to offering creative, sustainable solutions in response to the three-part revolution now underway in the automotive industry, with drivetrain electrification, automated and connected cars, mobility services and digital.

According to the company, industrial property experts are integrated into Valeo’s different innovation projects worldwide in order to define the methods and means for protecting the technologies developed by the group’s network of 13,000 engineers. Valeo adds that its innovation-based strategy is a success with customers, with innovative products accounting for half of total order intake in 2016.

Jacques Aschenbroich, Valeo’s chairman and CEO, said, “Our first-place ranking illustrates the new, more innovative, technologically focused and dynamic Valeo that we’ve created. The 994 patents filed in France with the INPI and the 612 filed with the EPO demonstrate the group’s strategy based on innovation in CO2 emissions reduction and intuitive driving, as well as the quality of work and expertise contributed by our nearly 100,000 employees around the world.”