Sandouville Renault Factory
| Built | 1964 |
|---|---|
| Location | Sandouville, France |
| Coordinates | 49°29′05″N 0°17′47″E / 49.484799°N 0.296495°ECoordinates: 49°29′05″N 0°17′47″E / 49.484799°N 0.296495°E |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Area | 237 hectares |
| Address | Route Alizés, 76430 Sandouville, France |
The Sandouville Renault Factory is a car plant belonging to the Renault Group, established in 1964 at Sandouville in the Seine-Maritime department, not far from the port of Le Havre. Work began on its construction in July 1963 and the factory was in most respects completed by December 1964.
Initially it was constructed for the assembly of the Renault 16 which was formally launched in March 1965 at the Geneva Motor Show, but not available for sale, even in its home market, till June 1965. Initially the plant, which enjoyed excellent communication links, notably by rail and river, focused on final assembly, while most of the sub-assemblies and other components arrived from older Renault plants located along the River Seine between Le Havre and Paris. For the early Renault 16s running gear and suspension sub-assemblies came from the company's old Billaincourt factory. Also on the banks of the Seine is Cléon from where another Renault plant supplied Sandouville with power trains.Flins supplied Sandouville with stampings and chromed components.
Subsequent models built at Sandouville include the Renault 17, Renault 20, Renault 30, Renault 18, Renault 21, Renault 25, Renault Safrane, Renault Laguna and Renault Vel Satis, meaning that of the three major Renault plants in France, this is the one that concentrates on the larger models. Since 2003, when the Renault Espace switched from a composite body shell (manufactured on Renault's behalf by Matra) to a more conventional pressed steel body shell, the Espace has also been manufactured at Sandouville.
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