Société de Véhicules Automobiles de Batilly

The Société de Véhicules Automobiles de Batilly (French pronunciation: [sɔsjete də vɛikyl otɔmɔbil də batiji]) (SOVAB) is a subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault, created in 1980 to operate the light commercial vehicle plant located at Batilly.[2]

Société de Véhicules Automobiles de Batilly SNC

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1 July 1980
Headquarters	Batilly , France
Key people	Javier Novo (Director)
Products	Master III
Production output	126,461 (2015)[1]
Parent	Renault
Website	www.sovab-renault-batilly.fr

Batilly factory

Built	1979 (1979)
Coordinates	49.173306°N 5.978394°E / 49.173306; 5.978394
Employees	2,141 (February 2017)
Area	101 hectares
Volume	2,5 million
Address	SOVAB Batilly, Zone industrielle, BP 2, 54980 Batilly, France

History

The project to create a new facility at Batilly, Meurthe-et-Moselle, was begun by Renault's subsidiary Saviem in 1972. It was continued when Saviem was merged with Berliet to form Renault Véhicules Industriels (RVI).[3] The factory was constructed between 1976[4] and 1979. In 1980 Renault took from its subsidiary RVI a 25% stake of the factory's capital to form SOVAB. At the same year the factory started to manufacture the first-generation Master.[5] The first-generation Trafic was introduced in 1981 and the Renault B in 1982.[3] During the following years Renault collaborated with General Motors and in 1997,[6] they launched the Master II which was also marketed as Opel Movano. From 1995 onwards the Batilly factory became the sole assembler of the Trafic I, after the Chausson's Creil factory was closed down.[7] The model was discontinued in 2000. Renault kept Batilly when sold RVI to Volvo in 2001. In 2010 was introduced the Master III.[2]

Facilities

The SOVAB complex comprises 101 hectares of which 181,838 m² are covered. There is a single production line. The vehicles assembled by the company are sold by Renault, Opel, Vauxhall, Nissan and Renault Trucks. On 13 June 2013, SoVAB produced its 2,000,000th unit.[8]

Within SOVAB there is also a Renault Tech workshop which has 6,800 m² and employs 72 people.[9]

Current Vehicles manufactured

Renault Master III on the Batilly plant production line.

• Renault Master III (2010−present)

Former Vehicles manufactured

• Renault B/Messenger (1982−?)
• Renault Master I (1980−1997)
• Renault Traffic I (1981−2000)
• Renault Master II/Mascott (1997−2010)

References

1. "Nos chiffres clés". SOVAB. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
2. "Batilly factory". Renault. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
3. "Historique SoVAB" [SoVAB History] (PDF) (in French). Sudautomobile-sovab.fr. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
4. Tipler, Jhon (1999). Trucks. Chartwell Books. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-785-81090-2.
5. "Filières et développement économique" [Sectors and economic development] (in French). Insee (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques). Retrieved 9 April 2013.
6. World Automotive Industry Trends. 1997 Yearbook. WAIT. 1997. p. 110.
7. "Deux générations de véhicules sur une ligne" [Two generations of vehicles on one line] (in French). L'Usine nouvelle. 23 November 1995. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
8. "Véhicules utilitaires légers : Groupe Renault : 2.000.000 d'unités produites par la SoVAB" [Light commercial vehicles: Renault group: 2,000,000 units produced by SoVAB] (in French). Automania.be. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
9. "Lorraine. Sovab - Renault Tech : Le véhicule utilitaire haute couture" [Lorraine. Sovab - Renault Tech: The high fashion utility vehicle] (in French). Le Journal des Enterprises. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2014.