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After compacting and reducing its workforce, the historic Citroën factory in Rennes is preparing to welcome a new SUV, replacing the current C5 Aircross. It could also build other models based on the same platform. This is what Carlos Tavares, the boss of his parent company Stellantis, indicated this Monday, November 19.
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The La Janais factory, in Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande (Ille-et-Villaine) near Rennes, assembled the first examples on November 13 of the new Citroën SUV, replacing the current C5 Aircross, whose launch in electric and hybrid versions – and gasoline for markets outside Europe – is planned for the second half of 2025.
The future Citroën C5 Aircross will be produced at the Stellantis site in Rennes “La Janais” • © Stellantis
Visiting the site this Monday, November 18, just after testing the new model on the circuit, Carlos Tavares stressed that activity in the factory “depends on the commercial success of the future C5 Aircross”, with a fixed breakeven point. between 50,000 and 80,000 sales per year
While the European automobile market is slowing down, this new Citroën offers the site business prospects “at least until 2030”, according to Stellantis. And all French sites are loaded at least until 2028, according to Mr. Tavares. But to the extent that the new Citroën is based on the STLA-M platform (shared with the group’s other SUVs such as the Peugeot 3008 or the Jeep Compass), “there may be other opportunities (…) everything is possible, but for the moment it is not planned”, indicated the boss of Stellantis at a press conference.
However, this is what the factory’s union representatives were demanding, who are expecting long-term guarantees.
“If the arrival of the future “C5 Aircross” is good news since it ensures work until 2030, the problem remains,” also puts Laurent Valy of the CFDT, the majority union, into perspective.
“A single vehicle is not enough. In Rennes, production of the 5008 is stopping these days, the first generation “C5 Aircross” is at the end of its life, so we will end up with its successor as a single product. And if we quality, there is one factor that we cannot control, and that is the reception of the public.”
The gigantic Citroën factory which manufactured Ami 8, BX,
Tuesday October 29, the factory management announced the elimination of 250 temporary jobs from January 2025, to adapt to the expected production volume. “This new temporary organization will make it possible to adjust to the volume of production,” explained the group, which also assured that “this staff will have priority to reintegrate our organization during the ramp-up of production. the new C5 Aircross“, by summer 2025.
If the Rennes factory had not taken responsibility for its own transformation, most likely, we would not have been here today to talk about it.
Carlos Tavares
CEO of Stellantis
This factory “is a good example of flexibility and understanding of what an efficient factory is,” declared Carlos Tavares on Monday, November 18. “If the Rennes factory had not taken responsibility for its own transformation, most likely, we would not have been here today to talk about it.” The factory was compacted like that of Peugeot in Sochaux ( Doubs): the assembly workshop now accommodates the fittings, i.e. the highly automated welding of the body, but also the assembly of the batteries.
The total surface area of the site should increase from 229 hectares to 108 in a few years: the metropolis of Rennes has already bought part of it to launch an “industrial center of excellence” dedicated to sustainable construction and mobility.
Also read: PSA La Janais: Carlos Tavares launches the new Excelcar industrial centerStellantis invested moderately to modernize the factory (160 million euros), reusing machines from Sochaux, but also from Italian factories of the former Fiat-Chrysler group to lower costs. A new plastic injection workshop is reusing bumpers or door protectors previously manufactured by subcontractors.
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