Renault – French Cars

Renault Near to Closing All Factories in France

A French Media Daily has reported that French automobile giant Renault has earmarked three of its manufacturing and assembling factories for an early closure in France. The move has come as a result of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, as companies reel from lowered consumer interest toward automobiles.

Renault as a company has plenty of fixed costs to cover and the company might not be able to continue on this trend going into the future. According to reports from the newspaper, it is the Alpine A110 producing factory on the outskirts of Paris that will be the first to shut down.

Similarly, Renault will also shut down another facility located at Flins.

Recently, thousands protested on the streets of France against the job cuts on the cards by Renault.

“It’s an earthquake that is taking place. We want to keep our company here,” Jerome Delvaux, a union member, said.

“This demonstration today is very important, even if it is a first step, to show the government and Renault that workers and residents of this area are committed to this company and that we have support,” Delvaux added.

“We need these jobs, otherwise it’s a whole territory that will die,” he said.

The company is looking to target savings, but these savings have certain repercussions that it isn’t accounting for.

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNIOehncMj4

Renault Stabs US-French Centuries’ Old Friendship

The US and France have been great allies for centuries. French automaker Renault shows absolutely no regard for it though.

The United States and Iran haven’t gotten along well in the past many years. The US recently imposed a new sanction over Iran which shows that the tension between the countries still exists. While all this was taking place, France was supposed to take sides with the US and keep away from Iranian deals.

Instead, Renault has had the audacity to make a historic deal with the middle-eastern country. The multimillion dollar deal will definitely infuriate the Trump Administration denting the long-lasting relationship.

As per the deal, the French automaker will set up its plants in Iran. These plants will produce around 150,000 cars each year. The project will begin from 2018, and will initially produce Renault’s infamous Duster compact SUV as well as its Symbol.

The appalling move by the French automaker was nothing but disgrace to the terms the US have had with France. What’s even more saddening was the fact that President Trump even had a dialogue with Emmanuel Macron—French President—on the matter. Trump had wanted to lessen Iran’s influence in the Middle-Eastern conflict, but the French automobile industry is out there making historic handshakes with Iran—a true depiction of backstabbing!

Europe Still Woefully Behind on Curbing Car Emissions

Almost a year after the Volkswagen emission scandal, Europe still hasn’t made sufficient progress on preventing car manufacturers from tricking emission tests rather than making actual progress on reducing the level of emissions.

This was revealed in a report presented by French authorities on Friday. After a thorough investigation of diesel cars by manufacturers – including Fiat, Ford, and France’s very own Renault – the investigators have been unable to find any evidence proving that the manufacturers haven’t performed illegal modifications.

Additionally, the report also claimed that the car manufacturers were “encouraged” by the European authorities to create cars that had the capability of polluting more than the EU limits.

Among the culprits was the Renault Talisman with a staggering difference between lab tests and real world figures. The level of toxic nitrogen oxides emitted by the vehicle in the lab results stand at 57.6mg/km whereas, in the real world, it’s somewhere around 926.1mg/km.

Will the French government take any action against Renault? Some of the French media outlets don’t think so. The Guardian reported a French business magazine as saying:

“The line is hazy between cheating and optimisation … in short, what might be barely morally defensible would be perfectly legal. The chances are pretty slim that any constructor will suffer the slightest reproach. The royal commission [which produced the report], like all its European counterparts, seems little more than a waste of time.”