Renault Trucks to build sustainable parts distribution centre near Lyon

The company, which is owned by Volvo Group, said the entire roof of the facility will be equipped with photovoltaic panels to produce electricity for heating, forklift trucks and for recharging electric vehicles (EVs), as well as supplying energy to nearby buildings. Renault Trucks already makes axles at the Saint-Priest site but is relocating that operation to nearby Vénissieux, where it also makes engines.

Renault Trucks said the existing PDC at Vénissieux did not meet the new environmental and operational requirements of its logistics activities and it has opted to relocate PDC operations to a new facility, which will be built on the site of the old axle manufacturing plant. That building will be demolished and the ground decontaminated in 2025. Renault Trucks aims to have the new PDC operational by 2028.

The new PDC built there will integrate storage, an automated section dedicated to small service parts and an area reserved for battery storage. The automation of operations and the optimisation of storage racks are aimed to ergonomically support the 500 workers employed at the facility.

“The construction of our new logistics platform in Lyon is a strategic investment for Renault Trucks,” said Bruno Blin, president of Renault Trucks. “It strengthens the long-term viability of our site and reflects our desire to build a solid, sustainable future based on innovation, offering new long-term opportunities for current and future employees.”

In December last year, Renault Trucks announced a partnership with TotalEnergies to install a solar canopy its Bourg-en-Bresse factory. That project will provide a total output of over 22 peak megawatts spread over 17 hectares, making it one of the largest in France. The Bourg-en-Bresse factory is already making heavy-duty electric trucks, including the Renault Trucks E-Tech T and C.