The factory parking lot Renault Douai, France, is full of yellow and green cars. They are the first electric R5 series. They have just come off the production line to celebrate the first anniversary of Amperethe electromobility subsidiary of the Renault group.
On October 30, Ampere celebrated its first anniversary with an event at the Douai factory despite a rather gloomy general outlook, with sales of electric cars that have slowed down compared to the previous year, due to the end of aid. to purchase in Germany. And yet, at Renault it was all smiles. They are now able to develop a electric car less than 20,000 euros in less than two years, as they do in China, thanks in part to the nuclear power French.
Renault Twingo electric: a French car, but development in China
“Many people are worried about the stagnation of electric car sales and Europe’s decarbonization obligations,” he admitted. Luca de MeoCEO of the Renault group, before the press. “But it is important to look long term: the future will be electric, whatever the bumps in the road.”
The Group expects the electric vehicle market to grow by 25% year on year. “The European market has lost 4 million vehicles since 2019, and the growth is in the electric vehicle,” he insists. Joseph Maria Recasens (one of the architects of the success of the SEAT Ateca and the launch of CUPRA), at the head of Ampere.
Battery-powered cars account for 35% of the market for cars over 45,000 euros. Now we have to convince 80% of customers who buy at a lower price and are looking for “affordable prices and autonomy.” Something that Chinese brands are willing to offer.
To compete better with rivals, you have to know them well. That is why the French manufacturer has gone to China to learn best practices by creating an entity called Advanced China Development Center (ACDC). The objective is to learn from the Chinese ecosystem and produce a car in two years with a retail price of less than 20,000 euros.
And learning the Chinese ecosystem means signing agreements with Chinese engineering companies that usually work for local manufacturers. Thus, a good part of the development of the future electric Renault Twingo is the work of a Chinese engineering study and not of the Renault group.
Luca de Meo defends this decision as inevitable if we want to develop the project in two years and release a product that costs less than 20,000 euros. “I have had to force my teams, who told me that it was not possible to develop it in two years,” says the CEO.
“We are going to learn from our competitors and emulate them,” Luca de Meo admits without hesitation. “As our ancestors did at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States and as the Chinese have done with us in recent decades.” The important thing is not to be left behind.
Of course, the future Twingo will be manufactured in France, like all the brand’s electric cars. The fact that they are manufactured in the brand’s country of origin is due to both a political issue (the French state remains a shareholder of Renault) and an economic issue.
Chinese development and French nuclear energy, or how to lower the costs of a new car
There are two sections that have a lot of weight in the manufacturing of a car, especially an electric car. These are labor and energy. According to Ampere’s Director of Operations, Josep-María Recasens, the nuclear energy that France has. It has 56 reactors capable of generate more than 415,000 million kWhbut above all, they do it at a very affordable price.
The manufacture of electric cars and their batteries, which in the case of Renault are manufactured in France, is more electricity-intensive. “By every euro of labor costs, three are energy”, explained Recasens. In addition, the supply is guaranteed (it does not depend on the wind or the sun) and decarbonized in the country. Comparatively, Electricity in Spain is twice as expensive as in the neighboring country.
On the other hand, Spain, with an average of renewable energies that exceeds 55% (today it is 65% emission-free energy) could play an important role in the medium-term future. At the moment, Renault is not considering manufacturing electric cars in Spain, or in any other country.
Currently, Renault produces all its electric models in Douai. The R5, Scenic and Megane E-Tech alternate on the assembly line. With only one and a half teams, the plant produces 52 cars per hour, that is, just over 500 per day. Of them, about 300 are R5s, and the production rate is increasing rapidly, but they are far from their maximum capacity.
The plant is designed to produce 400,000 cars per year, with the possibility of expanding it to reach 600,000 units. Until they reach that capacity, Renault does not consider manufacturing outside France, says Luca de Meo.
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Source: www.motorpasion.com
