Renault: More efficiency in e-car production at the Douai plant

 Renault has modernised the production line at the tradition-steeped site within a year and adapted it to the extensive requirements associated with the large-scale production of electric vehicles. Nicolas Vasseur and Vincent Maillard, the project's leaders, provide insights into Renault Group's latest industrial feat.

Strengthened by its alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors and its expertise in electrification, Renault Group comprises four complementary brands: Renault, Dacia, Alpine and Mobilize, they aim to offer their customers sustainable and innovative mobility solutions. The Group is present in more than 130 countries and sold 2.7 million vehicles in 2021. Because of the environmental challenges, the group has set itself the goal of becoming carbon neutral in Europe by 2040. Of course, this will not happen on its own, so the company has to convert some production lines. One of these is located at the French plant in Douai. Renault brand vehicles have been rolling off the production lines here since 1975 - a total of more than ten million cars to date, including the pioneering 5, 14, 19, and 21 models as well as the Megane and Scenic.

The all-electric Megane E-Tech Electric marks the start of a completely new era at the site, which necessitated extensive conversion work. "In an industrial production facility, time plays a very important role. Not a single delay is allowed," says project manager Nicolas Vasseur. Every day that could be lost due to downtime must be avoided at all costs. "The only exceptions are necessary repairs and improvements. But these are carried out at weekends, atght or, in August during the summer holidays. If you were to string the individual sections of the old assembly line together, it would be almost 1,700 metres long with all 400 workstations.