Renault creates ElectriCity division to produce 400,000 EVs annually

Automaker Renault Group has created a new entity, Renault ElectriCity, in northern France, which aims to produce 400,000 electric vehicles per year by 2025.

The company said June 9 it had signed an agreement with representative trade unions allowing it to group together its Douai, Maubeuge and Ruitz sites in northern France to make the largest EV production center in Europe.

Renault ElectriCity plans to produce its first EV, the Mégane E-Vision, at Douai from 2021 on the new modular Renault-Nissan Common Module Family (CMF-EV) platform, which will also be used for a new C-segment vehicle.

Renault also plans to install a new electric platform dedicated to the industrialization of B-segment vehicles at Douai.

Maubeuge will start producing the new Kangoo E-Tech Electric in 2022, while the Ruitz plant will host new electrical components manufacturing activity.

Renault said that, with the new entity, it aimed to enable the deployment of a robust and coherent industrial project for all three plants.

It also plans to modernize the production sites and develop the attractiveness of the Northern Industrial Cluster to build an infrastructure for key EV components.

It added that Renault ElectriCity would form partnerships with universities to set up training schemes adapted to the changing automotive market and contribute to research work, while also partnering with start-ups and specialized entities to participate in innovation initiatives to support future developments in the automotive world.

The new entity should create 700 jobs between 2022 and 2024.

Renault ElectriCity director Luciano Biondo said that the fact that all trade unions had signed the agreement was "proof that the commitment of employees, constructive social dialog and a strong local presence are key to setting up a robust and attractive industrial model."