A vision of the automobile factory of the future

The automobile industry has changed the world of the 20th century, but now that it is faced with globalisation, it is the industry which must change. These changes are profound: the European market is mature but the car market is exploding in developing countries. Clients’ requests to personalise their cars are forcing the industry to rethink the entire process of production engineering. Similarly, regulatory constraints require cleaner cars which are therefore lighter, and new materials are emerging‚ modifying technologies and the supply chain. On top of this, automation and information technologies are turning all preconceived ideas on their heads and require new skill-sets. Renault started its first factory on the île Seguin in Boulogne-Billancourt in the 1930s, and created the Technocentre in Guyancourt in the 1990s for research and development purposes. It continued to build large factories in the French countryside, but now it must consider the future organisation of the company and decide what its future factories will be like.