From year to year, the number of new cars produced in France is decreasing. While 2005, more than 3.5 million vehicles were still coming off the assembly lines in France, they were just 1.3 million in 2022. If there are many moves, thenincrease in electrical and arrival sites foreign builders restore hope

Numerous site closures over 40 years

If France still has big brands from the now competitive groups, the situation is not rosy. Car manufacturing in France has been in decline for many years. After the closure of the Renault factory in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1982, the Flins company itself announced in 2020 that it would stop producing cars. A site that is still producing Zoe, there Clio IV or even By 2024, the Nissan Micra will be turned into a recycling center. As for Stellantis, Citroën also closed its historic factory in Aulnay-sous-Bois in 2014.

Few French cars leave factories in France

If you take a closer look only at the numbers 14.8% of Stellantis Group vehicles sold in 2022 come from French factories (excluding Jeep). In Renault, this share is only slightly higher, with 15.1%. By comparison, 32.5% of new BMW cars still come from Germany.

The reason is simple: production costs. Since the early 2000s, Citroën, Peugeot and Renault have moved their small, low-margin city cars to low-wage countries. In a lion, for example, 208 currently produced in Slovakia and Morocco Renault Clio V comes from Slovenia and Turkey. Even the small SUVs that are now on the rise are made outside of France. This applies, for example, to Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008, both assembled in Spain.

Can electricity and foreign manufacturers save France?

But all is not lost. In the future, the biggest sources of hope remain, unfortunately (or fortunately), foreign manufacturers. Toyota, for example, has produced almost 255,936 vehicles since 2001 at its Valenciennes plant. And next to the Yaris now stands a small city SUV Yaris Cross which occupies a significant part of production chains. In 2022 161,508 units were producedit is the fourth generation Toyota Yaris, which is the most built car in the national territory, ahead Peugeot 3008 and Renault Kangoo.

Finally, in the future, thanks to the highly automated production of electric vehicles, labor costs will weigh less and less. Renault has also announced that it wants to reopen factories in the national territory for production by 2024, almost 9 models in France. Enough to restore almost 2,500 jobs by then!

the choice of commitment to the French economy, the choice of manufacturing in France. #Reno realizes its main ambition to create the most competitive and efficient electric car production center in Europe: ElectriCity, in Hauts-de-France #madeofFrance pic.twitter.com/Dd402ZPXqg

— Renault France (@renault_fr) May 3, 2022