Renault Zoe Enters Full Production at Flins Plant

Wider deliveries of the RenaultRenaultFrance, 1898 > present189 models
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ZoeRenault ZoeFrance, 2012 > present7 photos
has begun almost a year after the first cars left the production line. Renault launched the Zoe slowly, until now the cars have only been available to a few, special buyers, but the Flins factory can now support full production.

The Zoe is built on the same production line at the latest ClioRenault Clio Gen.4France, 2012 > present92 versions
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. The same robots assemble the parts, and the only radical change was in the stamping shop that creates the car’s panels. The body gets 500 extra welds for reinforcement at the rear floor to protect the battery in rear collisions.

“The arrival of an electric vehicle could have introduced a lot of changes, but we have managed to keep them to a strict minimum,” said Didier Lehingue, deputy director of the Flins plant.

Renault also built a 500 square meter battery factory next to the Flins factory to supply the Zoe. For safety, it is split into a 60v area and 400v area. Most of the manual tasks are done in the 60v area, and the 400v area is left for more dangerous, automated assembly.  Each battery has a 5m-long seal that is installed by robots that fits between the bolts along the perimeter.