Renault’s manufacturing facilities in Maubeuge and Sandouville in France are to build new vans for Nissan and Mitsubishi.
The announcement by Alliance chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn will see the facility in Mauberge, near the Belgian border, become the small van centre of excellence for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. The plant, which currently produces the second-generation Renault Kangoo, Kangoo ZE and Mercedes Citan, has been allocated production for the next-generation Renault Kangoo, including electric versions, and the new Nissan NV250; the latter is due mid-2019 and will be based on the current Renault Kangoo platform.
In addition, the Renault Sandouville plant in Normandy – the production centre for the Trafic and the Trafic-based Fiat Talento and Nissan NV300 – will produce a new Mitsubishi Motors van, also based on the Trafic platform and intended for markets in Australia and New Zealand.
Ghosn said Renault’s van expertise was helping to drive synergies across the Alliance. By the end of the strategic plan, Alliance 2022, the Alliance aims to double annual synergies to €10bn. To help achieve this target, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors will accelerate collaboration on common platforms and common production facilities.
“The Maubeuge and Sandouville plants provided the most attractive solution thanks to their competitiveness and ability to leverage Alliance common platforms. This year, Groupe Renault has announced a total investment in France of €1.4bn to support two pillars of growth: pure electric and light commercial vehicles,” added Ghosn.
