Sept. 29, 2017—Delphi Automotive is shedding its name as part of a business makeover to shift from hardware to software, Fox Business reports.
The automotive systems supplier said Wednesday it will rename itself Aptiv and that its current chief executive, Kevin Clark, will continue to run that part of the company after it splits in two by next March. It said it would seek shareholder approval of the name change in November.
The senior management of Delphi, which itself was spun off from General Motors Co. in 1999, decided in May to jettison the company's engine components unit and focus instead on higher tech electronics for advanced safety and self-driving applications.
The company, which is based in Britain for tax purposes but is run from its headquarters outside of Detroit, aims to stave off incursions by Silicon Valley into the auto industry by harnessing the latest technology to develop autonomous and connected vehicles.
"The vehicle has evolved and so have we," Clark said in a statement, adding that the neologism Aptiv "reflects knowledge, adaptiveness and drive."
As part of that new strategic focus, Delphi is leaving behind its legacy as a supplier of commodity-like components for carmakers' assembly line parts bins.
The decision was cheered by Wall Street for creating one of the few larger capitalization "pure plays" on next-generation automotive technology. Investors have pushed the value of Delphi's stock up by 31 percent since the spinoff was announced on May 3.
Delphi's $12 billion advanced electronics business is its top revenue generator and employs about 145,000 people globally. Its $4.5 billion engine, or powertrain, business has about 20,000 employees world-wide.
The company said its hardware-dependent engine parts business will retain the Delphi moniker and be re-christened Delphi Technologies. That will be run by Liam Butterworth, who will transition to the CEO role from his current position as a senior vice president in charge of Delphi's powertrain operations, it said.
