On the company’s strategy, the role of Bulgaria, and the future of the automotive industry – an interview with Marc Biron, CEO of Melexis, for Economy.bg
Belgian semiconductor company Melexis is accelerating its transformation toward new industries such as robotics and digital healthcare, while maintaining its strong automotive focus. The company’s Bulgarian center in Sofia continues to play a key role in development and testing, with plans for expanded capacity and larger teams.
We spoke with Marc Biron about the future development of Melexis in Bulgaria as a key R&D and testing hub, including new investments, team and capacity expansion, diversification into new industries, global automotive trends, and the future of automotive technologies.
The interview took place during one of the most significant events for Bulgaria’s automotive sector – Automotive Forum Bulgaria 2026, organized by Automotive Cluster Bulgaria.
Mr. Biron, you recently announced a move toward new industries such as robotics and digital healthcare. How will this affect your strategy for Melexis Bulgaria?
The Bulgarian office is Melexis’ largest location. We employ 800 people in Sofia, while globally we have around 2,000 employees. The Sofia center is extremely important. Here we develop, manufacture, and test products, and this will continue.
The business is moving toward electrification. We will continue developing products that support vehicle electrification, and we will also continue testing these products. We are planning to expand our testing facilities in Bulgaria as well. We already have a new building that was constructed four to five years ago, and by the end of this year we will renovate the old building, which we call the “Red Building,” increasing our testing capacity by around 20–25%.
We are preparing for business growth, as the industry is increasingly shifting toward China, while at the same time continuing to expand globally. We need to prepare our Bulgarian center to absorb this growth with approximately 20–25% more capacity.
Are you planning to increase investments and expand your team in Bulgaria?
Yes. The first investment is the renovation of the building itself. After that, we will need to hire more people to operate the testing facilities.
Will your focus in Bulgaria remain mainly on development and testing, or are you planning to expand into other areas as well?
At the moment, our operations in Bulgaria are mainly focused on development. We are working on new products, so we plan to expand our R&D team. In addition, we also have testing operations. We will hire people for the testing facilities as well, meaning we will continue developing both areas — development and testing.
How do you assess the challenges and opportunities in Bulgaria’s automotive industry?
We are a global company with customers all over the world — in Europe, China, Japan, India, and the United States. Currently, around 90% of our revenue comes from the automotive industry, while 10% comes from outside the sector.
Our strategy is to diversify both our customer and product base. Innovation is key because we want to expand into robotics, digital healthcare, and alternative mobility solutions such as electric bicycles, electric motorcycles, and drones. We also want to move into technologies that help reduce CO2 emissions, including solar panels and heat pumps.
At the same time, we will remain strong in the automotive sector — this is our core business and we will continue to develop it through innovation. Alongside this, we want to grow in the new markets I mentioned.
Read the full interview here.
