Photo: Renault
The Renault Group has announced a partnership with Punch Torino, in the form of a binding Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties, which involves making four-cylinder diesel engines in France. The power units will be made starting in 2025, and they will be low-emission units.
The new partnership targets the development and production of four-cylinder diesel engines in the Cléon plant in Normandy, France. These new engines are set to be Euro 6 and Euro 7 versions of Renault-developed four-cylinder diesels, and they will be featured in light commercial vehicles that will roll off the assembly line starting 2025.
As a fun fact, Renault has been making engines in its Cléon factory ever since 1962. It was then that the French firm started making its line of C-Type units. Those came with a cast iron block and were referred to as Cléon-Fonte. These engines ended up being manufactured up until 2004, when their final form ended its production run.
Since the technology is already in Renault's hands, and the same is true for the factory where the engines are being made, you might wonder what PUNCH Torino has to do with all this.
Well, the Italian firm will be able to purchase, use, and sell the current and future inline four-cylinder diesel units from Renault. The Horse Project, which is a joint venture announced by the French group last November, will be among the customers of these new engines.
The folks at PUNCH are specialized in developing engines, and Renault is interested in taking its power plants for LCVs to the next level, which is Euro 7 compliance. And doing so with a partner might be a measure to help keep costs under control.
That last bit is not mentioned in the release, but it is obvious since the Italian partners will be able to take part in the development, which is the costliest part of making a new engine.
While development costs are usually split across the number of units sold, and the products end up paying for themselves if they sell as many units as expected, the firm still needs to pay for the development upfront, and then hope that the sales will happen.
The LCV segment will continue to have diesel engines in Europe, as well as in several other parts of the world, as it has different requirements in terms of annual mileage, as well as usage scenarios.
In other words, it does make sense to keep making light commercial vehicles with internal combustion engines, at least as long as the market keeps buying them. It is all a game of who buys what, and it is referred to as the law of supply and demand by economists.
Last November, Renault decided to overhaul its operations, and that involves moving its ICE division to a joint-venture company that the carmaker started with Geely. The idea is to stop the Renault Group from focusing on internal combustion engine development and take that part of the business into a separate unit.
The Renault Group also has a separate division for the development of electric vehicles, which is called Ampere and is based in France. Ampere is meant to be a mix between an electric vehicle manufacturer, a software development firm, and an automaker, all under the Renault brand.
As a fun fact, Renault has been making engines in its Cléon factory ever since 1962. It was then that the French firm started making its line of C-Type units. Those came with a cast iron block and were referred to as Cléon-Fonte. These engines ended up being manufactured up until 2004, when their final form ended its production run.
Since the technology is already in Renault's hands, and the same is true for the factory where the engines are being made, you might wonder what PUNCH Torino has to do with all this.
Well, the Italian firm will be able to purchase, use, and sell the current and future inline four-cylinder diesel units from Renault. The Horse Project, which is a joint venture announced by the French group last November, will be among the customers of these new engines.
The folks at PUNCH are specialized in developing engines, and Renault is interested in taking its power plants for LCVs to the next level, which is Euro 7 compliance. And doing so with a partner might be a measure to help keep costs under control.
That last bit is not mentioned in the release, but it is obvious since the Italian partners will be able to take part in the development, which is the costliest part of making a new engine.
While development costs are usually split across the number of units sold, and the products end up paying for themselves if they sell as many units as expected, the firm still needs to pay for the development upfront, and then hope that the sales will happen.
The LCV segment will continue to have diesel engines in Europe, as well as in several other parts of the world, as it has different requirements in terms of annual mileage, as well as usage scenarios.
In other words, it does make sense to keep making light commercial vehicles with internal combustion engines, at least as long as the market keeps buying them. It is all a game of who buys what, and it is referred to as the law of supply and demand by economists.
Last November, Renault decided to overhaul its operations, and that involves moving its ICE division to a joint-venture company that the carmaker started with Geely. The idea is to stop the Renault Group from focusing on internal combustion engine development and take that part of the business into a separate unit.
The Renault Group also has a separate division for the development of electric vehicles, which is called Ampere and is based in France. Ampere is meant to be a mix between an electric vehicle manufacturer, a software development firm, and an automaker, all under the Renault brand.
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