In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, Renault presented a reindustrialization plan until 2024 to turn Spain into a hub for its electric models, with five new cars and engines for its plants in Castilla y León, and the circular economy project and three new hybrid gearboxes to assemble the group’s new hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
As part of this strategy, the French automotive group inaugurated in Seville the “Refactory” project by which it converts its factory into the first circular economy project dedicated to sustainable mobility, which will give a second life to used vehicles with the forecast of 10,500 cars in one year.
Renault’s new plant in the Andalusian capital expects to industrialize the conversion of cars to electrification, lower their price, as well as the time taken, so as not to exceed 10 days.
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Objectives
Renault’s plan is focused on extending the useful life of cars with electric technology. Among the novelties of the so-called Refactory is the conversion of combustion vehicles to electric vehicles, an operation that no factory has yet carried out in Spain.
The French company estimates that within approximately one year, 75% of production will be destined to electric and hybrid vehicles, reaching 100% by 2030.
Pedro Salinas, Head of Projects at the plant, explained that they will seek to optimize the transformation process from combustion to electric, “initially with our models and later with cars of all brands. The idea is to remove the combustion engine and replace it with an electric one, add the battery and power electronics to manage the engine and battery”.
Renault in Seville has produced the gearboxes for combustion cars for all the factories around the world of the French group and Nissan.
From now on, the new three gearboxes to be produced will be for hybrids and electrics progressively, but the factory opens the focus: it will focus on the circular economy to renew used cars, but also to take advantage of old batteries for electrics and electromechanical components.
The Andalusian factory aims to renew more than 11,000 cars per year by 2025, which will go “from having the second-hand seal to premium quality at competitive prices”, according to the French brand.
