French automotive supplier Valeo announced on Thursday a less ambitious sales target for 2025, citing slower-than-expected growth in the automotive market and a slower-than-expected take-off of electric vehicles.

The group, which specializes in equipment for hybridization and driving aids, said in a press release that it was now forecasting sales of 24.5 to 25.5 billion euros in 2025, compared with the previous figure of 27.5 billion euros.

"We built a Move-Up strategic plan on the basis of a market that rose to 98 million cars, 98.5 to be exact in 2025. The market has changed," said Valeo CEO Christophe Périllat during a press conference.

He pointed out that the new target was based on conservative assumptions in order to maintain a comfort zone.

For 2023, the Group reported an 11% like-for-like increase in sales to 22.04 billion euros in 2023, a notch below analysts' forecasts of 22.07 billion euros according to a consensus provided by the company.

Valeo's operating margin came out at 3.8%, against a consensus of 3.7%. (Reported by Jesus Calero and Nathan Vifflin, edited by Gilles Guillaume)