At the Automechanika Fair 2008, Valeo presented its latest product ranges and services' evolutions as well as its technological innovation for original equipment and aftermarket.

As a designer and manufacturer of spare parts, Valeo has always made an effort to extend its expertise in cooperation with professionals, distributors, garages and body repair shops to respond to their needs. By specific offers in repair, maintenance, crash, post-equipment and truck areas, Valeo Service provide a complete range of specific products, services, trainings and technical assistance.

Through a program of constant innovation, Valeo Service, is committed to meet the needs of a constantly evolving market with ever-shorter repair cycles, the assimilation of new technologies and stringent regulations on environmental protection.

Valeo Service presented its new products, services and tools for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and trucks in five markets:

- New Starter Alternator Reversible System : available exclusively from Valeo, StARS provides automakers with the possibility of reducing fuel consumption in city driving by up to 15% without making any radical changes to their engine architecture.

- Smart Car Key from Valeo brings new functionality to access remote controls.

- The complete range of Driving and parking assistance products and the specific website site for professionals and consumers.

- ClimTest+, the latest Valeo innovation in a line of comprehensive software tools developed to facilitate diagnostic operations for air-conditioning repairers.

- Air Quality range for heavy duty vehicles, Valeo provide a complete range of products to improve air quality in the vehicle cabin over 3.5 tons.

- 2 new technical DVDs for repair and crash parts: an all-in-one tool to help workshops optimize diagnostics and repairs.

Environmental policy

Valeo's environmental protection policy contributes to a culture of continuous progress. Risk control and environmental protection require a number of necessarily long-term initiatives. Valeo has been applying such initiatives for nearly 15 years:

- The same environmental culture in all Valeo sites

- A voluntary stringent process of certification

- Elimination of harmful substances

- Improvement the environmental performance of products and processes.

Working for total elimination of harmful substances, Valeo's experts have taken account of the European directive on End-of-Life Vehicles which has required heavy metals to be eliminated from the production of all European vehicles since July 1, 2003. All of Valeo's part numbers (including those bought from suppliers) comply with this directive. To improve the environmental performance of products and processes, Valeo's innovations incorporate an environmental dimension into their design. This can be illustrated by a number of examples such as:

- Reduction of energy consumption and pollutant emissions with Valeo's Start-Stop system,

- Complete remanufacturing process for three Aftermarket product lines, starters, alternators and compressors including used core collection,

- The recycling of scrap materials recovered from used cores as part of the remanufacturing process

- Reduction of product packaging towards smaller more compact boxes, using recycled cardboard and plastic where possible

- optimization of logistic flows with increased transport by rail, and for many export territories, direct delivery from the production site to the transport agent and a new incoterm for warehouse to port of destination

- printing of paper catalogues and sales literature on recycled paper or paper from sustained forests

Valeo is also a partner of the eXponentia™ training programme. eXponentia™ provides automotive repair professionals with services that allow them to update their skills, improve response to face the needs of the automotive market, expand customer services, boost competitiveness, and grow their business.