(Bloomberg) -- Renault SA said it will build electric vans at its Sandouville site in northern France as part of its Flexis SAS joint venture aimed at taking on rivals including Stellantis NV.
The French carmaker will hire 550 permanent and fixed-term staff over the next four years at the plant, which currently employees some 1,850 people, and invest an additional €300 million ($324 million), it said in a statement on Friday.
The move is another step in Renault Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo's efforts to boost local output at a time of transformation for the automotive industry. Renault last month presented its new electric R5 model, with a starting price of around €25,000, which also will be made in France.
The new battery van models will add to Renault's light commercial vehicle lineup, which includes the Kangoo.
Renault and Volvo AB, the world's second-biggest truckmaker, announced in October that they would each invest €300 million in the Flexis joint venture over the next three years to build a range of vans and offer related services. French shipping company CMA CGM SA plans a strategic investment of as much as €120 million. Production is set to begin in 2026.
Renault's domestic EV efforts, backed by President Emmanuel Macron's government, contrast with Stellantis's struggles in Italy, where a local union said this week it will cut some 3,000 jobs amid tensions with the Italian government over car production.
De Meo, Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt and CMA CGM CEO Rodolphe Saadé will hold a press conference on the Flexis project on April 3 in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris.
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