Item 1. BUSINESS
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Item 1. BUSINESS
“Aptiv,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Aptiv PLC, a public limited company which was formed under the laws of Jersey on May 19, 2011 as Delphi Automotive PLC, which together with its subsidiaries acquired certain assets of the former Delphi Corporation and completed an initial public offering on November 22, 2011. The former Delphi Corporation (now known as DPH Holdings Corp. (“DPHH”)) and, as the context may require, its subsidiaries and affiliates, are also referred to herein as “Old Delphi.” On December 4, 2017 (the “Distribution Date”), the Company completed the separation (the “Separation”) of its former Powertrain Systems segment by distributing to Aptiv shareholders on a pro rata basis all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Delphi Technologies PLC (“Delphi Technologies”), a public limited company formed to hold the spun-off business. To effect the Separation, the Company distributed to its shareholders one ordinary share of Delphi Technologies for every three Aptiv ordinary shares outstanding as of November 22, 2017, the record date for the distribution. Following the Separation, the remaining company changed its name to Aptiv PLC and New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") symbol to "APTV." Also, as a result of the Separation, Delphi Technologies became an independent public company trading on the NYSE under the symbol "DLPH" as of the Distribution Date.
The completion of the Separation positioned Aptiv as a leading global technology and mobility company serving the automotive sector. We design and manufacture vehicle components and provide electrical, electronic and active safety technology solutions to the global automotive and commercial vehicle markets, creating the software and hardware foundation for vehicle features and functionality. We enable and deliver end-to-end smart mobility solutions, active safety and autonomous driving technologies and provide enhanced user experience and connected services. Our Advanced Safety and User Experience segment is focused on providing the necessary software and advanced computing platforms, and our Signal and Power Solutions segment is focused on providing the requisite networking architecture required to support the integrated systems in today's complex vehicles. Together, our businesses develop the ‘brain’ and the ‘nervous system’ of increasingly complex vehicles, providing integration of the vehicle into its operating environment.
We are one of the largest vehicle component manufacturers, and our customers include all 25 of the largest automotive original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) in the world. We operate 109 major manufacturing facilities and 14 major technical centers utilizing a regional service model that enables us to efficiently and effectively serve our global customers from best cost countries. We have a presence in 45 countries and have approximately 16,000 scientists, engineers and technicians focused on developing market relevant product solutions for our customers.
We are focused on growing and improving the profitability of our businesses, and have implemented a strategy designed to position the Company to deliver industry-leading long-term shareholder returns. This strategy includes disciplined investing in our business to grow and enhance our product offerings, strategically focusing our portfolio in high-technology, high-growth spaces in order to meet consumer preferences and leveraging an industry-leading cost structure to expand our operating margins. In line with the long term growth in emerging markets, we have been increasing our focus on these markets, particularly in China, where we have a major manufacturing base and strong customer relationships.
Website Access to Company’s Reports
Aptiv's website address is aptiv.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our reports filed prior to December 4, 2017 were under the name of Delphi Automotive PLC.
Our History
In October 2005, Old Delphi and certain of its United States (“U.S.”) subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Bankruptcy Court”). Old Delphi's non-U.S. subsidiaries, which were not included in the Chapter 11 Filings, continued their business operations without supervision from the Bankruptcy Court and were not subject to the requirements of the Bankruptcy Code. On October 6, 2009 (the “Acquisition Date”), Delphi Automotive LLP acquired the major portion of the business of Old Delphi and issued membership interests to a group of investors consisting of certain lenders to Old Delphi, General Motors Company (“GM”) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the “PBGC”). On March 31, 2011, all of the outstanding Class A and Class C membership interests held by GM and the PBGC were redeemed, respectively, for approximately $4.4 billion.
On May 19, 2011, Delphi Automotive PLC was formed as a Jersey public limited company, and had nominal assets, no liabilities and had conducted no operations prior to its initial public offering. On November 22, 2011, in conjunction with the completion of its initial public offering by the selling shareholders, all of the outstanding equity of Delphi Automotive LLP was
exchanged by its equity holders for ordinary shares in Delphi Automotive PLC. As a result, Delphi Automotive LLP became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delphi Automotive PLC.
On December 4, 2017, the Company completed the Separation of its former Powertrain Systems segment by distributing to Aptiv shareholders on a pro rata basis all of the outstanding ordinary shares of Delphi Technologies PLC. To effect the Separation, the Company distributed to its shareholders one ordinary share of Delphi Technologies for every three Aptiv ordinary shares outstanding as of November 22, 2017, the record date for the distribution. Following the Separation, the remaining company changed its name to Aptiv PLC.
Our Company
We believe the automotive industry is being shaped by rapidly increasing consumer demand for new mobility solutions, advanced technologies and vehicle connectivity, as well as increasing government regulation related to vehicle safety, fuel efficiency and emissions control. These industry mega-trends, which we refer to as “Safe,” “Green” and “Connected,” are driving higher growth in products that address these trends than growth in the automotive industry overall. We have organized our business into two diversified segments, which enable us to develop technology solutions and manufacture highly-engineered products that enable our customers to respond to these mega-trends:
| • | Signal and Power Solutions (formerly known as Electrical/Electronic Architecture)—This segment provides complete design, manufacture and assembly of the vehicle’s electrical architecture, including engineered component products, connectors, wiring assemblies and harnesses, cable management, electrical centers and hybrid high voltage and safety distribution systems. Our products provide the critical signal distribution and computing power backbone that supports increased vehicle content and electrification, reduced emissions and higher fuel economy. |
| • | Advanced Safety and User Experience (formerly known as Electronics and Safety)—This segment provides critical components, systems and advanced software development for passenger safety, security, comfort and vehicle operation, including body controls, infotainment and connectivity systems, passive and active safety electronics, autonomous driving software and technologies, displays and systems integration. Our products increase vehicle connectivity, reduce driver distraction and enhance vehicle safety. |
We previously reported the results of our former Powertrain Systems and Thermal Systems businesses as segments. The Powertrain Systems segment provided gasoline and diesel engine management systems including fuel handling, fuel injection, combustion, electronic controls, test and validation capabilities, electric and hybrid electric vehicle power electronics and aftermarket components. As described above, we completed the spin-off of the Powertrain Systems segment into a new, independent public company named Delphi Technologies PLC on December 4, 2017.
The Thermal Systems business provided powertrain cooling and heating, ventilating and air conditioning (“HVAC”) systems, such as compressors, systems and controls, and heat exchangers for vehicle markets. As part of our strategy to focus on a high-growth product portfolio, we completed the sale of the wholly owned Thermal Systems business to MAHLE GmbH ("MAHLE") on June 30, 2015.
The assets and liabilities, operating results and operating and investing cash flows for the previously reported Powertrain Systems and Thermal Systems segments are presented as discontinued operations separate from the Company’s continuing operations for all periods presented, as further described in Note 25. Discontinued Operations to the audited consolidated financial statements herein. Our description and discussion of financial amounts within this Item 1. Business reflect the results of continuing operations, unless otherwise noted.
Financial Information about Business Segments
We operate our core business along two operating segments, which are grouped on the basis of similar product, market and operating factors.
Net Sales by Segment
| Year Ended December 31, 2017 | Year Ended December 31, 2016 | Year Ended December 31, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net Sales | % of Total | Net Sales | % of Total | Net Sales | % of Total | |||||||||||||||
| (in millions, excluding percentages) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Signal and Power Solutions | $ | 9,507 | 74 | % | $ | 9,319 | 76 | % | $ | 8,183 | 76 | % | ||||||||
| Advanced Safety and User Experience | 3,446 | 27 | % | 3,024 | 25 | % | 2,756 | 25 | % | |||||||||||
| Eliminations and Other | (69 | ) | (1 | )% | (69 | ) | (1 | )% | (75 | ) | (1 | )% | ||||||||
| Total | $ | 12,884 | $ | 12,274 | $ | 10,864 |
Refer to Results of Operations by Segment in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis and Note 23. Segment Reporting of the notes to the consolidated financial statements, included in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report for further financial information about business segments.
Our business is diversified across end-markets, regions, customers, vehicle platforms and products. Our customer base includes all 25 of the largest automotive OEMs in the world, and in 2017, 28% of our net sales came from the Asia Pacific region, which we have identified as a key market likely to experience substantial long-term growth. Our ten largest platforms in 2017 were with eight different OEMs. In addition, in 2017 our products were found in all of the 20 top-selling vehicle models in the United States, in 19 of the 20 top-selling vehicle models in Europe and in 13 of the 20 top-selling vehicle models in China. We have also entered into collaborative arrangements with mobility providers and with smart cities such as Boston and Singapore as we develop solutions for the evolving nature of the mobility industry.
We have established a worldwide design and manufacturing footprint with a regional service model that enables us to efficiently and effectively serve our global customers from best cost countries. This regional model is structured primarily to service the North American market from Mexico, the South American market from Brazil, the European market from Eastern Europe and North Africa, and the Asia Pacific market from China. Our global scale and regional service model enables us to engineer globally and execute regionally to serve the largest OEMs, which are seeking suppliers that can serve them on a worldwide basis. Our footprint also enables us to adapt to the regional design variations the global OEMs require and serve the emerging market OEMs.
Our Industry
The automotive technology and components industry provides components, systems, subsystems and modules to OEMs for the manufacture of new vehicles, as well as to the aftermarket for use as replacement parts for current production and older vehicles. Overall, we expect long-term growth of global vehicle sales and production in the OEM market. In 2017, the industry experienced increased global customer sales and production schedules. Compared to 2016, vehicle production in 2017 increased by 4% in Europe, 3% in China and 21% in South America. However, after several years of increases, consumer demand for vehicles in North America receded, resulting in a 4% decrease in North American production in 2017 as compared to the increased volumes experienced in 2016. Demand for automotive components in the OEM market is generally a function of the number of new vehicles produced in response to consumer demand, which is primarily driven by macro-economic factors such as credit availability, interest rates, fuel prices, consumer confidence, employment and other trends. Although OEM demand is tied to actual vehicle production, participants in the automotive technology and components industry also have the opportunity to grow through increasing product content per vehicle by further penetrating business with existing customers and in existing markets, gaining new customers and increasing their presence in global markets. We believe that evolving entrants into the global transportation industry such as mobility providers and smart cities will provide additional markets for our advanced technologies. We believe that as a company with a global presence and advanced technology, engineering, manufacturing and customer support capabilities, we are well-positioned to benefit from these opportunities.
We believe that continuously increasing societal demands have created the three “mega-trends” that serve as the basis for the next wave of market-driven automotive technology advancement. Our challenge is to continue developing leading edge technology focused on addressing these mega-trends, and apply that technology toward products with sustainable margins that enable our customers, both OEMs and others, to produce distinctive market-leading products. We have identified a core portfolio of products that draw on our technical strengths and align with these mega-trends where we believe we can provide differentiation to our customers.
Safe. The first mega-trend, “Safe,” represents technologies aimed not just at protecting vehicle occupants when a crash occurs, but those that actually proactively reduce the risk of a crash occurring. OEMs continue to focus on improving occupant and pedestrian safety in order to meet increasingly stringent regulatory requirements in various markets, such as a notice issued by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which updated its five-star rating system to include automatic emergency braking systems as a recommended safety technology, beginning with model year 2018. As a result, suppliers are focused on developing technologies aimed at protecting vehicle occupants when a crash occurs, as well as advanced driver assistance systems that reduce driver distractions and automated safety features that proactively mitigate the risk of a crash occurring. Examples of new and alternative technologies that incorporate sophisticated detection and advanced software for collision avoidance include lane departure warning systems, adaptive cruise control, gesture control and automatic braking.
Green. The second mega-trend, “Green,” represents technologies designed to help reduce emissions, increase fuel economy and minimize the environmental impact of vehicles. Green is a key mega-trend today because of the convergence of several issues: climate change, volatility in oil prices, an increasing number of vehicles in use worldwide and recent and pending regulation in the U.S. and overseas regarding fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions. OEMs continue to focus on improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions in order to meet increasingly stringent regulatory requirements in various markets. On a worldwide basis, the relevant authorities in
the European Union, the United States, China, India, Japan, Brazil, South Korea and Argentina have already instituted regulations requiring further reductions in emissions and/or increased fuel economy through 2017. In many cases, other authorities have initiated legislation or regulation that would further tighten the standards through 2020 and beyond. Based on the current regulatory environment, we believe that OEMs, including those in the U.S. and China, will be subject to requirements for even greater reductions in carbon dioxide ("CO2") emissions over the next ten years. These standards will require meaningful innovation as OEMs and suppliers are forced to find ways to improve engine management, electrical power consumption, vehicle weight and integration of alternative technologies (e.g., electric/hybrid propulsion). As a result, suppliers are developing innovations that result in significant improvements in fuel economy, emissions and performance from gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines, and permit engine downsizing without loss of performance. At the same time, suppliers are also developing and marketing new and alternative technologies that support hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and fuel cell products to improve fuel economy and emissions. We are developing key enabling technologies in the areas of charging and on vehicle power distribution and control that are essential to the introduction of our customers' electrified vehicle platforms.
Connected. The third mega-trend, “Connected,” represents technologies designed to seamlessly integrate today's highly complex vehicles into the electronic operating environment, and provide drivers with connectivity to the global information network. The technology content of vehicles continues to increase as consumers demand greater safety, personalization, infotainment, productivity and convenience while driving, which in turn leads to increasing demand for electrical architecture as a foundation for this content. Also with increased smart device usage in vehicles, driver distractions can be dramatically increased, which in turn results in greater risk of accidents. We are pioneering vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies which enable vehicles to detect and signal danger, reducing vehicle collisions and improving driver safety, while also maintaining connectivity to an increasing number of devices inside and outside of vehicles. We are also developing advanced connectivity solutions such as over-the-air (OTA) technology that will enable vehicles to receive software updates remotely and collect market-relevant data from connected vehicles.
We expect these mega-trends to continue to create growth and opportunity for us. We believe we are well-positioned to provide solutions and products to OEMs to expand the electronic and technological content of their vehicles. We also believe electronics integration, which generally refers to products and systems that combine integrated circuits, software algorithms, sensor technologies and mechanical components within the vehicle will allow OEMs to achieve substantial reductions in weight and mechanical complexity, resulting in easier assembly, enhanced fuel economy, improved emissions control and better vehicle performance.
Convergence of Safe, Green and Connected Solutions in New Mobility and Autonomous Driving
The combination of advanced technologies being developed within these mega-trends is also contributing to increasing industry development of autonomous driving technologies, leading to a fully automated driving experience. We expect automated driving technologies will provide strong societal benefit as well as the opportunity for long-term growth for our product offerings in this space, including new potential customers such as mobility providers and smart cities that require solutions to increasing urban mobility challenges. Societal benefits of increased vehicle automation include enhanced safety (resulting from collision avoidance and improved vehicle control), environmental improvements (a reduction in CO2 emissions resulting from optimized driving behavior), labor cost savings and improved productivity (as a result of alternate uses for drive time). Growth opportunities in this space result from increased content, additional computing power and software requirements, enhanced connectivity systems and increased electrification and interconnects. We believe the complexity of these systems will also require on-going software support services, as these vehicle systems will be continuously upgraded with new features and performance enhancements.
We are continuing to invest in the automated driving space, and have continued to develop market-leading automated driving platform solutions such as automated driving software, key active safety sensing technologies and our Multi-Domain Controller, which fuses information from sensing systems as well as mapping and navigation data to make driving decisions. We believe we are well-aligned with industry technology trends that will result in sustainable future growth in this space, and have partnered with other leaders in the field to advance the pace of development and commercialization of these technologies. We have entered into a collaborative arrangement with Mobileye N.V. to jointly develop the Centralized Sensing Localization and Planning ("CSLP") system, a complete turn-key fully autonomous driving platform for our OEM customers, with the goal of being production ready for 2019. We also entered into a collaborative arrangement with Intel Corporation and the BMW Group to develop and deploy automated driving technology. Additionally, in 2017 we acquired nuTonomy, Inc. in order to further accelerate our commercialization of automated driving solutions. The acquisition of nuTonomy is the latest in a series of investments we have made to expand our position in the new mobility space, including the previous acquisitions of automated driving software developer Ottomatika and data service companies Control-Tec and Movimento.
We believe the increasing societal demand for mobility on demand ("MoD") services will accelerate the development of autonomous driving technologies, strongly benefiting the MoD space. We have entered into agreements to develop fully-autonomous vehicles and associated infrastructure as part of automated MoD pilots for the government of Singapore and the city of Boston.
As a result of our substantial investments and strategic partnerships in this space, we believe we are well-aligned with industry technology trends that will result in sustainable future growth in these evolving areas.
To guide our product strategies and investments in technology with a focus on developing advanced technologies to drive growth within the Safe, Green and Connected mega-trends, we utilize and benefit from our Technology Advisory Council, a panel of prominent global technology thought leaders.
Standardization of Sourcing by OEMs
Many OEMs are adopting global vehicle platforms to increase standardization, reduce per unit cost and increase capital efficiency and profitability. As a result, OEMs are selecting suppliers that have the capability to manufacture products on a worldwide basis as well as the flexibility to adapt to regional variations. Suppliers with global scale and strong design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, are best positioned to benefit from this trend. OEMs are also increasingly looking to their suppliers to simplify vehicle design and assembly processes to reduce costs. As a result, suppliers that sell vehicle components directly to manufacturers (Tier I suppliers) have assumed many of the design, engineering, research and development and assembly functions traditionally performed by vehicle manufacturers. Suppliers that can provide fully-engineered solutions, systems and pre-assembled combinations of component parts are positioned to leverage the trend toward system sourcing.
Shorter Product Development Cycles
As a result of government regulations and customer preferences, OEMs are requiring suppliers to respond faster with new designs and product innovations. While these trends are more prevalent in mature markets, the emerging markets are advancing rapidly towards the regulatory standards and consumer preferences of the more mature markets. Suppliers with strong technologies, robust global engineering and development capabilities will be best positioned to meet OEM demands for rapid innovation.
Products
Our organizational structure and management reporting support the management of these core product lines:
Signal and Power Solutions. This segment provides complete design, manufacture and assembly of the vehicle’s electrical architecture, including connectors, wiring assemblies and harnesses, cable management, electrical centers and hybrid high voltage and safety distribution systems. Our products provide the critical signal distribution and computing power backbone that supports increased vehicle content and electrification, reduced emissions and higher fuel economy.
| • | High quality connectors are engineered primarily for use in the automotive and related markets, but also have applications in the aerospace, military and telematics sectors. |
| • | Electrical centers provide centralized electrical power and signal distribution and all of the associated circuit protection and switching devices, thereby optimizing the overall vehicle electrical system. |
| • | Distribution systems, including hybrid high voltage systems, are integrated into one optimized vehicle electrical system that can utilize smaller cable and gauge sizes and ultra-thin wall insulation (which product line makes up approximately 47%, 50% and 55% of our total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively). |
Advanced Safety and User Experience. This segment provides critical components, systems and advanced software development for passenger safety, security, comfort and vehicle operation, including body controls, infotainment and connectivity systems, passive and active safety electronics, autonomous driving technologies and displays. Our products increase vehicle connectivity, reduce driver distraction and enhance vehicle safety.
| • | Electronic controls products primarily consist of body computers and security systems. |
| • | The infotainment and driver interface portfolio primarily consists of receivers, digital receivers, satellite audio receivers, navigation systems and displays (including re-configurable displays). |
| • | Active and passive safety electronics and advanced driver assistance systems primarily includes occupant detection systems, collision warning systems and collision sensing, as well as vision, radar, Light Detection and Ranging (“LIDAR”) and other sensing technologies and multi-domain controllers that enable active safety features such as adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and auto braking. |
Competition
Although the overall number of our top competitors has decreased due to ongoing industry consolidation, the automotive supply industry remains extremely competitive. Furthermore, the rapidly evolving nature of the markets in which we compete has attracted, and may continue to attract, new entrants, particularly in low-cost countries such as China and in areas of evolving vehicle technologies such as automated driving and mobility solutions, which has attracted competitors from outside the traditional automotive industry. OEMs rigorously evaluate suppliers on the basis of product quality, price, reliability and timeliness of delivery, product design capability, technical expertise and development capability, new product innovation, financial viability, application of lean principles, operational flexibility, customer service and overall management. In addition, our customers generally require that we demonstrate improved efficiencies, through cost reductions and/or price improvement, on a year-over-year basis.
Our competitors in each of our operating segments are as follows:
| Segment | Competitors |
| Signal and Power Solutions | • Draexlmaier Automotive |
| • Lear Corporation | |
| • Leoni AG | |
| • Molex Inc. (a subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc.) | |
| • Sumitomo Corporation | |
| • TE Connectivity, Ltd. | |
| • Yazaki Corporation | |
| Advanced Safety and User Experience | • Alpine Electronics |
| • Autoliv AB | |
| • Bosch Group | |
| • Continental AG | |
| • Denso Corporation | |
| • Hyundai Mobis | |
| • Magna International | |
| • Panasonic Corporation | |
| • Samsung Electronics | |
| • Valeo | |
| • Visteon Corporation | |
| • ZF Friedrichshafen AG |
Customers
We sell our products and services to the major global OEMs in every region of the world. The following table provides the percentage of net sales to our largest customers for the year ended December 31, 2017:
| Customer | Percentage of Net Sales |
| GM (1) | 13% |
| Volkswagen Group (“VW”) | 9% |
| Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. ("FCA") | 7% |
| Ford Motor Company (“Ford”) | 6% |
| SAIC General Motors Corporation Limited | 6% |
| Geely Automobile Holdings Limited | 4% |
| Daimler AG (“Daimler”) | 4% |
| PSA Peugeot Citroën (“PSA”) (1) | 4% |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 2% |
| Changan Automobile Company Limited | 2% |
| (1) | Net sales to GM includes net sales to GM's former European Opel business prior to its sale to PSA on August 1, 2017, after which date these sales are included in net sales to PSA. |
Supply Relationships with Our Customers
We typically supply products to our OEM customers through purchase orders, which are generally governed by general terms and conditions established by each OEM. Although the terms and conditions vary from customer to customer, they typically contemplate a relationship under which our customers place orders for their requirements of specific components supplied for particular vehicles but are not required to purchase any minimum amount of products from us. These relationships typically extend over the life of the related vehicle. Prices are negotiated with respect to each business award, which may be subject to adjustments under certain circumstances, such as commodity or foreign exchange escalation/de-escalation clauses or for cost reductions achieved by us. The terms and conditions typically provide that we are subject to a warranty on the products supplied; in most cases, the duration of such warranty is coterminous with the warranty offered by the OEM to the end-user of the vehicle. We may also be obligated to share in all or a part of recall costs if the OEM recalls its vehicles for defects attributable to our products.
Individual purchase orders are terminable for cause or non-performance and, in most cases, upon our insolvency and certain change of control events. In addition, many of our OEM customers have the option to terminate for convenience on certain programs, which permits our customers to impose pressure on pricing during the life of the vehicle program, and issue purchase contracts for less than the duration of the vehicle program, which potentially reduces our profit margins and increases the risk of our losing future sales under those purchase contracts. Additionally, our largest customer, GM, expressly reserves a right to terminate for competitiveness on certain of our long-term supply contracts. We manufacture and ship based on customer release schedules, normally provided on a weekly basis, which can vary due to cyclical automobile production or dealer inventory levels.
Although customer programs typically extend to future periods, and although there is an expectation that we will supply certain levels of OEM production during such future periods, customer agreements including applicable terms and conditions do not necessarily constitute firm orders. Firm orders are generally limited to specific and authorized customer purchase order releases placed with our manufacturing and distribution centers for actual production and order fulfillment. Firm orders are typically fulfilled as promptly as possible from the conversion of available raw materials, sub-components and work-in-process inventory for OEM orders and from current on-hand finished goods inventory for aftermarket orders. The dollar amount of such purchase order releases on hand and not processed at any point in time is not believed to be significant based upon the time frame involved.
Our Global Operations
Information concerning principal geographic areas is set forth below. Net sales data reflects the manufacturing location for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015. Net property data is as of December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.
| Year Ended December 31, 2017 | Year Ended December 31, 2016 | Year Ended December 31, 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Sales | Net Property (1) | Net Sales | Net Property (1) | Net Sales | Net Property (1) | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States (2) | $ | 4,652 | $ | 839 | $ | 4,800 | $ | 733 | $ | 4,472 | $ | 676 | |||||||||||
| Other North America | 171 | 185 | 137 | 150 | 139 | 127 | |||||||||||||||||
| Europe, Middle East & Africa (3) | 4,235 | 1,029 | 3,905 | 821 | 3,216 | 764 | |||||||||||||||||
| Asia Pacific (4) | 3,544 | 698 | 3,212 | 573 | 2,803 | 522 | |||||||||||||||||
| South America | 282 | 53 | 220 | 48 | 234 | 37 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 12,884 | $ | 2,804 | $ | 12,274 | $ | 2,325 | $ | 10,864 | $ | 2,126 |
| (1) | Net property data represents property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation. |
| (2) | Includes net sales and machinery, equipment and tooling that relate to the Company's maquiladora operations located in Mexico. These assets are utilized to produce products sold to customers located in the United States. |
| (3) | Includes our country of domicile, Jersey, and the country of our principal executive offices, the United Kingdom. We had no sales in Jersey in any period. We had net sales of $157 million, $153 million and $106 million in the United Kingdom for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. We had net property in the United Kingdom of $91 million, $84 million and $88 million as of December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The largest portion of net sales in the Europe, Middle East & Africa region was $1,191 million, $944 million and $677 million in Germany for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. |
| (4) | Net sales and net property in Asia Pacific are primarily attributable to China. |
Research, Development and Intellectual Property
We maintain technical engineering centers in major regions of the world to develop and provide advanced products, processes and manufacturing support for all of our manufacturing sites, and to provide our customers with local engineering capabilities and design development on a global basis. As of December 31, 2017, we employed approximately 16,000 scientists, engineers and technicians around the world. Our total investment in research and development, including engineering, was approximately $1,086 million, $969 million and $895 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, which includes approximately $204 million, $181 million and $175 million of co-investment by customers and government agencies. Each year we share some engineering expenses with OEMs and government agencies. While this amount varies from year-to-year, it is generally in the range of 15% to 20% of engineering expenses.
We utilize a Technology Advisory Council, a panel of prominent global technology thought leaders, which guides our product strategies and investments in technology with a focus on developing advanced technologies to drive growth. We believe that our engineering and technical expertise, together with our emphasis on continuing research and development, allow us to use the latest technologies, materials and processes to solve problems for our customers and to bring new, innovative products to market. We believe that continued engineering activities are critical to maintaining our pipeline of technologically advanced products. Given our strong financial discipline, we seek to effectively manage fixed costs and efficiently rationalize capital spending by critically evaluating the profit potential of new and existing customer programs, including investment in innovation and technology. We maintain our engineering activities around our focused product portfolio and allocate our capital and resources to those products with distinctive technologies. We expect expenditures for research and development activities, including engineering, net of co-investment, to be approximately $1.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018.
We maintain a large portfolio of patents in the operation of our business. While no individual patent or group of patents, taken alone, is considered material to our business, taken in the aggregate, these patents provide meaningful protection for our products and technical innovations. Similarly, while our trademarks are important to identify our position in the industry, we do not believe that any of these are individually material to our business. We are actively pursuing marketing opportunities to commercialize and license our technology to both automotive and non-automotive industries and we have selectively taken licenses from others to support our business interests. These activities foster optimization of intellectual property rights.
Materials
We procure our raw materials from a variety of suppliers around the world. Generally, we seek to obtain materials in the region in which our products are manufactured in order to minimize transportation and other costs. The most significant raw materials we use to manufacture our products include copper and resins. As of December 31, 2017, we have not experienced any significant shortages of raw materials and normally do not carry inventories of such raw materials in excess of those reasonably required to meet our production and shipping schedules.
Commodity cost volatility, most notably related to copper, petroleum-based resin products and fuel, is a challenge for us and our industry. We are continually seeking to manage these and other material-related cost pressures using a combination of strategies, including working with our suppliers to mitigate costs, seeking alternative product designs and material specifications, combining our purchase requirements with our customers and/or suppliers, changing suppliers, hedging of certain commodities and other means. In the case of copper, which primarily affects our Signal and Power Solutions segment, contract clauses have enabled us to pass on some of the price increases to our customers and thereby partially offset the impact of increased commodity costs on operating income for the related products. However, other than in the case of copper, our overall success in passing commodity cost increases on to our customers has been limited. We will continue our efforts to pass market-driven commodity cost increases to our customers in an effort to mitigate all or some of the adverse earnings impacts, including by seeking to renegotiate terms as contracts with our customers expire.
Seasonality
Our business is moderately seasonal, as our primary North American customers historically reduce production during the month of July and halt operations for approximately one week in December. Our European customers generally reduce production during the months of July and August and for one week in December. Shut-down periods in the rest of the world generally vary by country. In addition, automotive production is traditionally reduced in the months of July, August and September due to the launch of component production for new vehicle models. Accordingly, our results reflect this seasonality.
Employees
As of December 31, 2017, we employed approximately 129,000 people; 22,000 salaried employees and 107,000 hourly employees. In addition, we maintain an alternative workforce of 18,000 contract and temporary workers. Our employees are represented worldwide by numerous unions and works councils, including the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers - Communications Workers of America ("IUE-CWA") and the Confederacion De
Trabajadores Mexicanos. In the U.S., our employees are represented by only the IUE-CWA, with which we have competitive wage and benefit packages.
Environmental Compliance
We are subject to the requirements of U.S. federal, state and local, and non-U.S., environmental and safety and health laws and regulations. These include laws regulating air emissions, water discharge, hazardous materials and waste management. We have an environmental management structure designed to facilitate and support our compliance with these requirements globally. Although it is our intent to comply with all such requirements and regulations, we cannot provide assurance that we are at all times in compliance. Environmental requirements are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. Accordingly, we cannot assure that environmental requirements will not change or become more stringent over time or that our eventual environmental costs and liabilities will not be material.
Certain environmental laws assess liability on current or previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of removal or remediation of hazardous substances. In addition to clean-up actions brought by U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. agencies, plaintiffs could raise personal injury or other private claims due to the presence of hazardous substances on or from a property. At this time, we are involved in various stages of investigation and cleanup related to environmental remediation matters at certain of our present and former facilities. In addition, there may be soil or groundwater contamination at several of our properties resulting from historical, ongoing or nearby activities.
At December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, the undiscounted reserve for environmental investigation and remediation was approximately $4 million, $5 million and $3 million, respectively. Additionally, as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the undiscounted reserve for environmental investigation and remediation attributable to discontinued operations included within liabilities of discontinued operations was approximately $1 million and $7 million, respectively, none of which related to sites within the U.S. We cannot ensure that our eventual environmental remediation costs and liabilities will not exceed the amount of our current reserves. In the event that such liabilities were to significantly exceed the amounts recorded, our results of operations could be materially affected.
SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT
The name, age (as of February 1, 2018), current positions and description of business experience of each of our executive officers are listed below. Our executive officers are elected annually by the Board of Directors and hold office until their successors are elected and qualified or until the officer’s resignation or removal. Positions noted below reflect current service to Aptiv PLC and prior service to Delphi Automotive PLC and Delphi Automotive LLP. Other than Mr. Massaro, Mr. De Vos, Mr. Dorlack, Mr. Paja and Ms. Suver, each officer listed below as a senior vice president was a vice president until February 2012.
Kevin P. Clark, 55, is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Aptiv and is a member of the company's board of directors. Mr. Clark was named president and CEO and became a member of the board in March 2015. Previously, Mr. Clark was chief operating officer (COO) from October 2014 to March 2015. Prior to the COO position, Mr. Clark was chief financial officer and executive vice president from February 2013. He was appointed vice president and chief financial officer in July 2010. Previously, Mr. Clark was a founding partner of Liberty Lane Partners, LLC, a private-equity investment firm focused on building and improving middle-market companies. Prior to Liberty Lane Partners, Mr. Clark served as the chief financial officer of Fisher-Scientific International Inc., a manufacturer, distributor and service provider to the global healthcare market. Mr. Clark served as Fisher-Scientific’s chief financial officer from the company’s initial public offering in 2001 through the completion of its merger with Thermo Electron Corporation in 2006. Prior to becoming chief financial officer, Mr. Clark served as Fisher-Scientific’s corporate controller and treasurer.
Joseph R. Massaro, 48, is chief financial officer and senior vice president of Aptiv, a position he has held since March 2016. Mr. Massaro joined the Company in October 2013 as vice president, Internal Audit, and in September 2014 was appointed to the position of vice president, Corporate Controller. Previously, Mr. Massaro was a managing director at Liberty Lane Partners from 2008 to 2013. While there he also served as chief financial officer of inVentiv Health Inc. from 2010 to 2013, a Liberty Lane portfolio company. Prior to Liberty Lane, he served in a variety of finance and operational roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific from 2002 to 2007, including senior vice president of Global Business Services where his responsibilities included the global sourcing and information technology functions. Prior to the merger with Thermo Electron, he also served as vice president and corporate controller of Fisher Scientific and held several other senior finance positions.
Majdi Abulaban, 54, is senior vice president of Aptiv and president of Aptiv Signal and Power Solutions, effective February 2012 and president of Aptiv’s Engineered Components Group, effective February 2017. He also continues to serve as president of Aptiv Asia Pacific. Mr. Abulaban was most recently president of the Connection Systems product business unit for Signal and Power Solutions. Mr. Abulaban was appointed managing director for the former Packard Electric Systems’ Asia Pacific operations and became chairman of the board for Delphi Packard Electric Systems Co., Ltd, (China) in July 2002. He previously held a variety of assignments, including business line executive for cockpits at the former Safety & Interior division and director of Asia Pacific Operations for Thermal Systems.
Allan J. Brazier, 51, is chief accounting officer and vice president of Aptiv, a position he has held since February 2011. Mr. Brazier joined the Company in June 2005 as senior manager of technical accounting and reporting, and most recently served as assistant controller of technical accounting and reporting. Prior to joining Aptiv, Mr. Brazier was employed for seventeen years in financial roles of increasing responsibility at various companies. Mr. Brazier is a Certified Public Accountant and began his career with the international public accounting firm of KPMG.
Glen De Vos, 57, is senior vice president and chief technology officer of Aptiv, effective March 2017, and has responsibility for Aptiv's innovation and global technologies. In November 2017, he was also named president of Aptiv’s Mobility and Services Group. Mr. De Vos was most recently vice president of Software and Services for Aptiv's Advanced Safety and User Experience segment, located at the Company's Silicon Valley Lab in Mountain View, California from 2016 to 2017. He began his Aptiv career with Advanced Safety and User Experience in 1992, and following several progressive engineering and managerial roles in infotainment and user experience, was named vice president, Global Engineering for Advanced Safety and User Experience in 2012.
Jerome J. Dorlack, 37, is senior vice president of Aptiv and president of Aptiv Electrical Distribution Systems, effective February 2017, and is also responsible for Aptiv’s South American operations. Mr. Dorlack joined Aptiv in April 2016 as the managing director Gas and Diesel RPBU- Americas for Powertrain Systems and was appointed to the position of vice president Powertrain Systems and general manager of Powertrain Products in July 2016. Prior to joining Aptiv, Mr. Dorlack was the executive vice president of Global Commodity Procurement for ZF Friedrichshafen AG ("ZF"), a global automotive supplier, from 2015 to 2016. Previously, he spent 15 years with TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., which was acquired by ZF in 2015, and TRW Inc., where he served in a variety of procurement and operational roles, including vice president of Global Purchasing, Supplier Development and Logistics from 2013 to 2015 and director of Quality & Continuous Improvement - Global Braking Systems from 2012 to 2013.
David Paja, 48, is senior vice president of Aptiv and president of Advanced Safety and User Experience, effective February 2017. He was most recently president of Honeywell Security & Fire, a global leader in electronic detection and prevention technologies for residential, commercial, and industrial applications from 2015 to 2017. From 2012 to 2014, he
served Honeywell’s Transportation Systems segment as vice president and general manager for China and India. Mr. Paja was instrumental in enhancing Honeywell's Internet of Things capabilities with advanced software and connectivity technologies, serving millions of connected homes and buildings worldwide. He began his Honeywell career in 2003 and held several leadership positions of increasing responsibility. Before joining Honeywell, Mr. Paja held several positions at Valeo Automotive.
David M. Sherbin, 58, is senior vice president, general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer of Aptiv. He was named to his current position in October 2009 and previously was vice president, general counsel from October 2005 to October 2009. He was appointed chief compliance officer in January 2006. Prior to joining Aptiv, Mr. Sherbin was vice president, general counsel and secretary for PulteGroup, Inc., a national homebuilder, from January 2005 through September 2005. Mr. Sherbin joined Federal-Mogul Corporation in 1997 and was named senior vice president, general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer in 2003.
Susan M. Suver, 58, is senior vice president and chief human resources officer, a position she has held since February 2015. Prior to joining Aptiv, Ms. Suver was an executive with United States Steel Corporation, a leading integrated steel producer, where she was senior vice president of human resources and administration from 2013 to 2014 and vice president human resources from 2007 to 2013. Ms. Suver has also held positions with Phelps Dodge Corporation, a metals, mining and industrial manufacturing company, and Arrow Electronics, Inc., a global supply channel for electronic components and software.
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