Delphi to Sell Passive Safety Assets to Autoliv

American supplier Delphi announced today plans to sell its North American airbag, seatbelt and steering wheel assets to Autoliv, as part of this year's decision to exit the Occupant Protection Safety (OPS) business in North America, Europe and Asia by the end of the year.

As a result, Autoliv will purchase Delphi’s steering wheel operations in Matamoros, Mexico, assets considered “world class” in the automotive and heavy truck industry. According to the agreement between the two companies, the airbag and seatbelt assets will be integrated into Autoliv's facilities.

"We are particularly excited to have the opportunity to improve our vertical integration capability and competence in steering wheels in North America," Jan Carlson, Autoliv CEO said in a release.

"The agreement also gives us an opportunity to provide our customers a seamless transition in supply of airbags and seatbelts, as our own plants already are important suppliers to these customers.”

Delphi exited its four-year long bankruptcy in the beginning of October, after selling its Saginaw steering operations, businesses in Europe, Mexico, South America and Asia. and several Delphi facilities to American manufacturer GM.

As a result of the emergence from bankruptcy, the entities which separated from Delphi formed Nexteer Automotive, "only global Tier One automotive supplier exclusively focused on advanced steering and driveline technology."

As for Autoliv, it is a supplier of automotive safety systems for just about all major automotive manufacturers in the world. It operates 80 facilities and employs 36,000 people in 28 countries.