Renault is opening a “used parts factory” in France, where its trucks will be broken down and their key parts harvested for use in still-running trucks. The facility will have a The reverse assembly line is supposed to prolong the life of heavy vehicles Renault trucks sold in Europe.
Or at the very least, extending the life of some parts found in trucks that have reached the end of their life. Renault speak Its trucks are designed to last over 1 million miles. While Not all of these vehicles will survive to witness that miraculous million-mile wheelchair on the odometer it doesn’t mean the truck is done.
Renault Trucks will take these end-of-life vehicles to the new Disassembly Plant, also known as the Used Parts Factory. The approximately 32,300 square foot plant will be located in Lyon, France, as close to Renault’s logistics hub as possible.
Once the old, high mileage trucks are dismantled at the facility, their reusable parts are refurbished and whatever remains is recycled. The main parts that workers on the reverse assembly line will pull from the truck include the engine, transmission, cabin, fuel tank, bumpers and windscreen.
Renault claims many other parts will remain in use at its own facilities, as well as going to third-party recyclers. For example, truck tracks would be cut out and sent to a nearby foundry, where the metal extracted in the process would be used to build new vehicles.
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The main components mentioned above will be reused in trucks that have not reached the end of their life. But first, they will be inspected, cleaned and labeled to make them easier to trace. Renault calls it the circular economy, and it’s not a bad way to get the best out of the company’s production capacity. A “reproducible” style but without the bland tones.
Apparently, Renault claims this is part of an initiative towards becoming neutral carbon, and the disassembly plant was even supported by a feasibility study conducted by the French auto recycling company Indra and ADEME, or the French Environment and Energy Administration. But it’s not that Renault does this purely out of kindness.
The company says this will help address the car’s shortage of parts and materials over the past few years. Parts towed from used trucks will be shipped to Renault Trucks dealers and sold under the label “Used Renault Truck Parts”. Like-new parts will be covered under warranty and cost 50-60% less than brand new parts. So even if the final factory disassemble is to generate more money for Renault Trucks, it still looks like a win-win scenario.
