The auto industry, which is not lacking in new alliances, is now richer in terms of cooperation. On Tuesday, the American manufacturer Ford and the French manufacturer Renault announced that they would enter into a strategic partnership in passenger car development for the first time. They also signed a declaration of intent on the possibility of cooperation in the commercial vehicle segment. “The partnership combines the know-how and industrial size of the Renault Group and Ford in Europe and will strengthen the competitiveness of both parties,” said the two groups. Specifically, the new alliance envisages, in a first step, that two new electric models from the Ford brand will be developed based on Renault’s existing Ampere platform. Both models should be in the B small car segment. Market launch planned for 2028. They should therefore not compete with the larger electric models Capri and Explorer, which roll off the assembly line at the Ford plants in Cologne. The new vehicles are to be produced in the group called “Electricity” from the Renault factories in Douai, Maubiege and Ruitz in northern France. The market launch is planned for 2028. For the Americans, they say they mark “the first step in a comprehensive new product offensive for Ford in Europe.” The mutual advantages are obvious: using Renault’s existing capacities instead of setting up new development and production lines for small electric cars saves Ford time and money. Renault, on the other hand, can look forward to higher utilization of its factories in northern France. The foundation for the new partnership was laid in March at a meeting in Detroit. Strong dependence on EuropaFord boss Jim Farley highlighted in an interview with the F.A.Z. and other international media highlighted the complementarities with the French. “We are good in different areas, but we can complement each other very well,” he said. Ford and Renault are similar in size and can achieve a lot together, be it in competition with Stellantis or the Chinese. According to the Americans, the decision to join forces with Renault is the result of careful consideration about what role they want to play after numerous restructurings in Europe. The competition will ultimately become even tougher.More on the topicIf you want to advance electrification in Europe, the focus must be on the B small car segment, added Renault boss François Provost, who has been in office since July, in the press conference. He is fundamentally continuing the strict electric course of his predecessor Luca De Meo. This is also due to the strong dependence on the European home market, in which the regulation has so far required a rapid departure from the combustion engine and which accounts for around two thirds of Renault’s sales. The remaining sales come almost exclusively from South America, Turkey and Morocco. Renault does not sell cars in either China or the USA. Lots of synergiesAccording to a company spokeswoman, there is currently still free capacity in the northern French factory network. “Electricity” was created under De Meo’s aegis and was intended to become the “largest and most competitive production center for electric vehicles in Europe”. The network also houses a new battery factory from the Japanese company AESC, which is majority owned by the Chinese Envision Group. Models from foreign manufacturers are nothing new in the Renault factories in northern France: models from the Japanese manufacturers Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors are already being produced there, with whom the French have a long-standing, although recently loosened, partnership. Renault expects many synergies from “Electricity” and is promoting electric car production made in France with short distances. Including locations such as the company’s own engine factory in Cléon, around 75 percent of all suppliers are within a radius of just 300 kilometers. The French government also promotes the largely decarbonized electricity mix as a location advantage; Last year, the share of nuclear energy and renewable energy sources in electricity generation was 95 percent. When it comes to wage costs, France is considered to be just as uncompetitive as Germany.
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