Every day, 600 cars leave the Renault factory in Maubeuge. Here we manufacture vans, utility vehicles for Nissan or Daimler, but the star is the Kangoo. The Maubeuge plant (North) wants to be flexible in order to produce on the same thermal and electrical lines.
Currently, 150 zero emission vehicles roll off the chains every day. And since the beginning of the year, batteries whose modules are made in China are also being assembled. Like many of the group’s sites, Maubeuge is transforming itself to power electric cars.
Another two weeks off
But with the semiconductor crisis weighing on the automotive industry since 2020, the timetable has been pushed back. And the stops multiply, as detailed by Gilbert dos Santos, manager of the Maubeuge battery workshop:
“Since the beginning of the year we have been detained for several days, and there it will start again for two weeks in ten days.”
What Gilbert dos Santod lacks above all is what is called Cboxes, the electronic materials that will make up the brain of the battery, will manage its charge, discharge or even communicate with the vehicle’s computers. Employees, however, remain philosophers. For 2 years, they have been used to stop and go inside the ElectriCity pole.
Preparing the arrival of 4L
The Maubeuge plant, with the headquarters in Douai (North) and Ruitz (Pas-de-Calais) form this industrial center that Renault intends to dedicate to the production of electric cars in France. In short, the electric showcase of the group THE. But what especially occupies the mind of the CEO of the pole, is this shortage of semiconductors.
“Without this crisis throughout ElectricCity, we could have produced 50,000 more cars, regrets Luciano Biondo, general manager of ElectricCity. We are falling behind but we are trying to turn this into an opportunity.”
For example, during the weeks of closure, the Maubeuge teams work on new projects. Next on the cards is the arrival of Renault’s new electric 4L, which will be produced at the factory from 2024.
Today, Maubeuge makes 25% of electric cars, but the idea is to pick up the pace in the coming years. Despite the crisis and shortages, Renault’s goals remain unchanged: to become the largest electricity producer in Europe and reach an annual production of close to 500,000 electric vehicles by 2025.
Source: BFM TV
