Renault has hit another production milestone with more than four million of the Renault Kangoo manufactured at its Maubeuge plant in northern France. The production facility has made the Kangoo ever since the model was first introduced in the late 1990s and while Maubeuge has been operational since 1969 and produced more than 20 prominent models, it is the Kangoo that it is synonymous with. Today, more than 400 Kangoo vehicles, including leisure and commercial versions, roll off the plant’s assembly lines every day.
Maubeuge, which has become a centre of LCV excellence, began Kangoo production 26 years ago. To ready the plant, Renault invested over €500 million in upgrades. These included the installation of a 5,400-tonne transfer press – one of the largest in Europe – and the first ever variable height production lines.
The plant would complete its millionth Kangoo in 2002 and its two-millionth in 2007. A year later, the site would commence production of the second-generation Kangoo. In 2011 Maubeuge adapted its lines to start manufacturing the electric Kangoo Z.E. and has made 90,000 of them (100,000 including electric vans produced for partners), contributing to Renault becoming one of the leaders in this category. To keep up with demand for the electric Kangoo, since 2021 the batteries have also been assembled at Maubeuge.
In 2021, the plant also started production of the third-generation Kangoo, with Renault investing €450 million to overhaul the site. This included the additions of a high-speed XXL stamping press (delivering 6,600 tonnes of pressure through five units and up to 15,000 strokes a day) and 600 metalworking robots. The logistics flows were also reshuffled to accommodate differing variations of the Kangoo: the plant assembles more than 380 versions on a single production line, handling about 3,700 product references on an average day.
Maubeuge celebrated the production milestone of 150,000 third-generation Kangoo in July 2023, which was followed by the introduction of the seven-seat Grand Kangoo to the line following its unveiling at
www.iaa-mobility.com/en IAA Munich in September.
The plant continues to be a showcase for Renault’s advanced production facilities. Its abilities include being able to produce up to 370 colour tones for Kangoo customers, while one of its recent upgrades, ‘vision control’ uses an array of cameras to check each point on each board is just right, so the screwing operation complies with all quality requirements. It even has a virtual reality paint booth simulator where personnel can practise without even using a drop of paint.