Maubeuge Construction Automobile (French pronunciation: [mobœʒ kɔ̃stʁyksjɔ̃ otɔmɔbil]; MCA) is a subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault created in 1980 to operate the light commercial vehicle plant located at Maubeuge.[3] The company traces its origins back to a Chausson factory established in 1969.[4]
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 29 April 1969 |
| Headquarters | , France |
Key people | Olivier Silva (Director)[1] |
| Products | Kangoo II (also badged Mercedes-Benz Citan)[2] |
Production output | 137,175 (2013) |
| Parent | Renault |
| Maubeuge plant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Built | 1969 |
| Coordinates | 50°16′19″N 3°54′37″E / 50.271811°N 3.910282°E |
| Area | 83 hectares |
| Address | Maubeuge Construction Automobile, BP 20050, 59604 Maubeuge, France |
History edit
In 1969, the Société des Usines Chausson established operations in Maubeuge.[3][5][4] In 1970, Renault and Peugeot entered into the company.[6] (a 52% stake was owned by Chausson, a 24% by Renault and a 24% by Peugeot). An assembly facility was inaugurated on 23 September 1971.[7] The next years, however, Chausson struggled with the relatively low sales for the models produced and the breakup of the Renault-Peugeot partnership.[8] In 1978, Renault purchased all the plant's stake[5] and renamed it Maubeuge Chausson Automobile.[8] In 1980, Renault founded MCA.[3][7][4] Since the 1990s it specialised on LCVs. In 2011 an all-electric van was put into production.[3] In 2012, as part of the partnership between Renault and Daimler, Maubeuge started to assemble the Mercedes-Benz Citan, a badge-engineered Kangoo.[9] In June 2021, Renault said it plans to merge MCA operations with the Douai and Ruitz ones into a new wholly owned subsidiary named as Renault ElectriCity, with the aim of creating an electric vehicle manufacturing pole in northern France.[10]
Vehicles manufactured edit
- Renault 15 (1971−?)
- Renault 18 (1979−1985)
- Renault Fuego (1979−1985)
- Renault 21 Nevada (1986−1990)
- Renault Medallion (1986−1988)
- Renault 19 Cabriolet (1988−1992)
- Renault Express (1989−2000)
- Renault Kangoo (1998−2007)
- Renault Kangoo II (2007−2021)
- Renault Kangoo III (2021−present)
- Mercedes-Benz Citan I (2012−2021)
- Mercedes-Benz Citan II (2021−present)
- Nissan Townstar (2021-present)
References edit
- ^ "Maubeuge Construction Automobile changé de directeur" [Maubeuge Construction Automobile changes Director]. lavoixdunord.fr. La Voix du Nord. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ "2013 Registration Document" (PDF). Renault. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Maubeuge plant". Renault. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ a b c "André Chausson, roi de l'automobile" [André Chausson, king of the automobile]. lavoixdunord.fr. La Voix du Nord. 17 July 2008. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ a b Grevet, Jean-François (2012). "Enterprises automobiles et conversion des vieux bassins industriels en Europe du Nord-Ouest: le cas du Nord-Pas-de-Calais (1968−1978)". In Eck, Jean-François; Chélini, Michel-Pierre (eds.). PME et grandes entreprises en Europe du Nord-Ouest, XIXe-XXe siècle: activités, stratégies, performances. Presses Univ. Septentrion. p. 81. ISBN 978-2-7574-0367-9.
- ^ Dormard, Serge (2001). L'économie du Nord-Pas-de-Calais: histoire et bilan d'un demi-siècle de transformations. Presses Univ. Septentrion. p. 96. ISBN 978-2-8593-9658-9.
- ^ a b Dormigny, Matthias (10 July 2011). "Maubeuge - Feignies : En 2011, MCA célèbre un double anniversaire" [Maubeuge - Feignies: In 2011, MCA celebrates a double anniversary]. lasambre.fr. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ a b Grevet, Jean-François (2010). The French automobile industry confronting the social, economic and environmental crisis of the 1970s (1968–1981) (PDF). 14th Annual Conference of the European Business History Association. Glasgow. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2014.
- ^ "New Mercedes-Benz Citan Van is a Renault Kangoo in Disguise". Carscoops.com. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ Patel, Tara (9 June 2021). "Renault Puts Unproductive French Plants to Work on Electric Cars". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 July 2021.