Renault has just listed the electric cars to come within the next three years. The opportunity for the Diamond brand to confirm its intention to concentrate all production in France on the Douai, Maubeuge, Ruitz and Cléon sites.
In June 2021, Renault created the Renault Group Electricity as part of its Renaulution plan. The goal? Brings together the industrial sites of Douai, Maubeuge and Ruitz, i.e. nearly 5,000 employees, within a single ecosystem specializing in electric vehicles. With this project, Renault wants to make France the epicenter of its electric car production.
Moreover, this merger of the different production capacities is an essential step for the manufacturer in achieving a completely different objective: that of selling only electric cars by 2030 in France.
As part of the agreements made in June 2021 with the unions, the Diamond brand had announced that five electric cars would be produced within the facilities of the Electricity division. And if the manufacture of the new Mégane E-TECH Electric has already started in Douai since the beginning of 2022, the suspense was still whole concerning the other models to come.
Renault wants to manufacture all its electric cars in France
It is not the case anymore. Indeed, Renault has just formalized the production sites of all its future electric vehicles. The electric R5 will be for example produced in Douai from 2024, while a new battery assembly workshop will have to open its doors at the same time to supply the site. The R5 will not be alone since the new electric Scenicbased on the CFM-EV platform of the Megane, will also be manufactured in Douai.
As for the Maubeuge factory, from 2023, it will only manufacture electric vans and utilities like the Kangoo E-Tech. In addition, note that the site will also house the production of the new electric 4L from 2024.
We then come to the Ruitz factory, the site in charge of manufacturing DB35 gearboxes (they equip the entire E-TECH range) since March 2022. The factory will take charge of the production of battery boxes for electric vehicles manufactured in France such as the future Renault 5.
As for the Cléon plant, remember that it has been producing since July 2022 the new ePT-160 kW electric motor of the brand. However, from 2023, Renault announces that the site will have “a production capacity of more than 1 million electrified motors per year, including 500,000 electric motors and 510 hybrid motors”.
Of course, these advertisements are synonymous with jobs. Since the beginning of the year, the manufacturer has hired more than 1,000 people at the various sites, and by the end of 2022 700 additional hires are planned.
