The large warehouse of 3.500 m2 is half empty. In the middle, a small production line, U-shaped, which is busy about twenty operators. At the entrance, a DS3 Crossback e-tense, the 100% electric version of the new small SUV DS, expected to be marketed from September.
Welcome to Trémery, the PSA Group’s engine plant, north of Metz (Moselle). The huge site, born just 40 years ago, was famous a few years ago as the largest in the world for the production of diesel engines. But in the big hangar, since last April, these unloved machines have been replaced by the assembly of electric motors. “This plant is in itself a symbol of the energy transition”, smiles Marc Bauden, director of the industrial division Trémery / Metz.
Decline of diesel
The spectacular decline of diesel and the forthcoming development of the electric vehicle is forcing manufacturers to adapt their industrial tool, and engine factories are the first to be concerned. At Trémery, a production line has closed. “Our tools are relatively flexible: we have been able to compensate in part for the increase in gasoline engines,” says Marc Bauden. Introduced in 2012, they accounted for 31% of the 1.77 million engines produced in Lorraine last year. Total production has nevertheless slightly decreased, and the trend is expected to continue this year (to 1.7 million).
But PSA is also investing in order to the electrification of its ranges . Its first battery vehicles are expected for autumn 2019: the DS3 Crossback, but also the Peugeot 208 and the Opel Corsa, early 2020. Not to mention the hybrid vehicles (DS7 Crossback, Peugeot 3008, 508, Opel Grandland X or Citroën C5 Aircross). Initially, the necessary engines will simply be assembled in Trémery, from components purchased from external suppliers such as Continental. The new line in progress, which required an investment of 10 million euros, is expected to see 15,000 engines out this year. Its capacity will be increased to 120,000 next year and to 180,000 in 2022.
Impact on employment
At the same time joint venture created at the end of 2017 with Japanese company Nidec will increase in power: the two partners will produce themselves in Trémery engines, not just to assemble. They plan to invest 220 million euros for a start of production in 2022, targeting a cruising pace of 900,000 in 2025 with 400 employees. And this, not to mention the engines that they hope to sell to other manufacturers. As for the batteries, now purchased from LG Chem and CATL, they are assembled in the Slovak plant in Trnava, but the operation could be brought closer to the production sites of the vehicles, in Spain or France, depending on volumes.
In the end, PSA hopes that the rise of power will compensate for the fall of diesel in Lorraine. The impact on employment, however, will not be entirely neutral: the electric motor is much simpler to produce. “It requires 30 to 40% less manpower,” says Yann Vincent, the group’s industrial director. The leader believes however that the group “will be able to manage this impact” in Trémery, where today work about 3,000 people.