The Société de Véhicules Automobiles de Batilly (French pronunciation: [sɔsjete də vɛikyl otɔmɔbil də batiji]) (SoVAB) is a subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault, created in 1980 to operate the light commercial vehicle plant located at Batilly.[2]
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1 July 1980 |
| Headquarters | , France |
Key people | Javier Novo (Director) |
| Products | Master III |
Production output | 126,461 (2015)[1] |
| Parent | Renault |
| Website | www.sovab-renault-batilly.fr |
| Batilly factory | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Built | 1979 |
| Coordinates | 49°10′24″N 5°58′42″E / 49.173306°N 5.978394°E |
| Employees | 2,141 (February 2017) |
| Area | 101 hectares |
| Volume | 2,5 million |
| Address | SOVAB Batilly, Zone industrielle, BP 2, 54980 Batilly, France |
History
editThe project to create a new facility at Batilly, Meurthe-et-Moselle, was begun by Renault's subsidiary Saviem in 1972. It was continued when Saviem was merged with Berliet to form Renault Véhicules Industriels (RVI).[3] The factory was constructed between 1976[4] and 1979. In 1980 Renault took from its subsidiary RVI a 25% stake of the factory's capital to form SOVAB. At the same year the factory started to manufacture the first-generation Master.[5] The first-generation Trafic was introduced in 1981 and the Renault B in 1982.[3] During the following years Renault collaborated with General Motors and in 1997,[6] they launched the Master II which was also marketed as Opel Movano. From 1995 onwards the Batilly factory became the sole assembler of the Trafic I and its German clone the Opel/Vauxhall Arena, after Chausson's Creil factory was closed down.[7] The model was discontinued in 2000. Renault kept Batilly when sold RVI to Volvo in 2001. In 2010 was introduced the Master III.[2]
Facilities
editThe SOVAB complex comprises 101 hectares of which 181,838 m2 are covered. There is a single production line. The vehicles assembled by the company are sold by Renault, Opel, Vauxhall, Nissan and Renault Trucks. On 13 June 2013, SoVAB produced its 2,000,000th unit.[8]
Within SOVAB there is also a Renault Tech workshop which has 6,800 m2 and employs 72 people.[9]
Current Vehicles manufactured
edit
- Renault Master III (2010−present)
Former Vehicles manufactured
edit- Renault Master/Renault Trucks B series/Renault Trucks Messenger (1980−1997)
- Renault Trafic (1981−2000)
- Renault Master II/Renault Trucks Mascott (1997−2010)
References
edit- ^ "Nos chiffres clés". SOVAB. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Batilly factory". Renault. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Historique SoVAB" [SoVAB History] (PDF) (in French). Sudautomobile-sovab.fr. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ^ Tipler, Jhon (1999). Trucks. Chartwell Books. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-785-81090-2.
- ^ "Filières et développement économique" [Sectors and economic development] (in French). Insee (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques). Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ^ World Automotive Industry Trends. 1997 Yearbook. WAIT. 1997. p. 110.
- ^ "Deux générations de véhicules sur une ligne" [Two generations of vehicles on one line] (in French). L'Usine nouvelle. 23 November 1995. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ "Véhicules utilitaires légers : Groupe Renault : 2.000.000 d'unités produites par la SoVAB" [Light commercial vehicles: Renault group: 2,000,000 units produced by SoVAB] (in French). Automania.be. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ "Lorraine. Sovab - Renault Tech : Le véhicule utilitaire haute couture" [Lorraine. Sovab - Renault Tech: The high fashion utility vehicle] (in French). Le Journal des Enterprises. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2014.