Renault Algérie Production (RAP) is ready to restart production of vehicles for the French brand. This was announced this Thursday, May 16, by Remi Houillons, the general director of the factory located in Oued Tlelat in the wilaya of Oran.
“We are ready and impatient to be able to restart,” wrote Remi Houillons in a post on the social network LinkedIn. “With already nearly 15 billion dinars invested for the construction of the factory and the work to bring it into compliance with current legislation, Renault Algérie Production is ready to restart and serve its customers as quickly as possible,” he said. he indicated in his post, accompanied by a video of the factory.
And added: “With teams that are always motivated and competent, we are ready to take on the challenges that arise and look forward to the future. Our commitment to innovation is undeniable. Our desire to develop the supplier base and local expertise is strong.”
“With a connected factory, equipped with new technologies and a research and development unit, Renault Algérie Production aims to be a major player in the technological transformation of the automobile industry in Algeria,” underlined the head of the factory.
“We are committed to providing high-quality products that meet international standards and always while respecting the expectations of our customers,” he said and added: “We are ready to contribute to the renewal of the automobile industry in Algeria.”
The RAP factory, inaugurated in November 2014, is the result of a joint venture between Renault, Holding Madar, and the National Investment Fund (FNI), holding respectively 49%, 34%, and 17% of the shares.
It should be remembered that when it was launched, the Société Nationale de Véhicules Industriels (SNVI) held 34% of the shares in the factory before selling them in 2022 to Madar. The factory, located on 150 hectares in Oued Tlelat, near Oran, reached a production capacity of 72,000 vehicles (Clio, Symbol, and Dacia Sandero) in 2017.
However, it experienced an almost total shutdown, following the suspension of the importation of SKD-CKD kits in 2020, a decision taken by the authorities. Production resumed timidly in 2021 following the release of a stock of kits (for just over 5,000 vehicles). Production stopped again.
This suspension prompted the factory to begin a compliance phase to meet the new regulatory requirements of the automotive sector in Algeria.
The specifications relating to the automobile industry have been revised to promote the development of local industry and encourage national production. In this context, the RAP factory strives to align with these new standards.
During a visit to Oran in September 2023, the Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production, Ali Aoun, spoke of the return of French automobile manufacturers to Algeria.
“For French manufacturers, they will wait for the day when we decide,” declared the minister, during a press briefing at the Fiat factory, of the Stellantis group, which was inaugurated on December 11 in the Tafraoui industrial zone.
Last Sunday (May 12), Minister Ali Aoun, who was the guest of the economic forum of the daily El Moudjahid, was questioned about the vehicle assembly plants closed for several years.
The minister described these units as “simple hangars which serve no purpose” except for the Renault factory in Oran, about which he said that “it would benefit from being improved from a technological point of view”.
More than 159,000 vehicles imported under quotas granted for 2023
In November 2022, Algeria set new conditions for the exercise of automobile manufacturing activities and the importation of new vehicles. And it was in March 2023 that the first approvals were granted to new vehicle dealers.
As of April 18, 159,037 vehicles were imported under the quotas granted for 2023 to 24 dealers, including 137,982 passenger, utility, and light vehicles, Minister Ali Aoun said.
The Fiat brand, from the Stellantis group, was the first to import new vehicles to the Algerian market after many years of closure. The Italian brand imported 97,000 vehicles after one year of activity (March 2023-March 2024).
In December 2023, the Stellantis group inaugurated the Fiat vehicle production plant located in the industrial zone of Tafraoui, wilaya of Oran. The factory is expected to produce 40,000 vehicles in 2024 and will reach a production capacity of 90,000 vehicles once the extension of the factory is completed, work on which was launched last March.
The Chinese manufacturer Chery, which launched its activities on the Algerian market in November 2023, announced the investment of 110 million dollars in the construction of a vehicle factory in the wilaya of Bordj Bou Arreridj. This factory begins production next October.
Geely, another Chinese manufacturer, plans to invest $200 million in a vehicle assembly plant in Algeria, its local partner Sodivem announced on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
“The factory will have a production capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year. The first model to come out in 2026 will be the GX3,” declared the deputy general director of Sodivem, Mohamed Gharbi, quoted by Asharq Business, adding that the factory will be located in the west of the country.
Another Chinese manufacturer, Jac, represented in Algeria by Emin Auto, also plans to set up a vehicle assembly plant in the wilaya of Ain Témouchent.
