The headquarters of Horse, the subsidiary of engines and other components for combustion cars created by Renault and the Chinese Geely will be located in Madrid, which has won the Romanian candidacy. It is a joint venture, with a presence in seven countries and some 19,000 workers, to which the Saudi Aramco is expected to join shortly.
The decision was made known this Wednesday by Renault to its union representatives, who celebrated the decision. From the outset, it hardly has an impact since the headquarters is not linked to a large investment. “But in the medium term, when the new manufacturing projects are decided”, the headquarters effect can be very important, union and company sources agreed.
In Spain, Horse brings together the Renault engine factories in Valladolid and the gearbox factory in Seville, which have a workforce of 3,400 people. They will join the new company under the same conditions they currently have.
Plants from Portugal, Turkey, Romania, Brazil, Chile and Argentina will also be included under the umbrella of this new company. It will also include engineering, product and process activities in Spain, Romania, Turkey and Brazil, although the manufacture of vehicles is ruled out. In total, there will be 17 factories and five engineering centers around the world.
With the creation of Horse in alliance with Geeely, the group led by Luca de Meo seeks to optimize costs to face the large investments that the widespread introduction of electric vehicles in Europe implies, with the ban on selling new combustion cars from 2035. Marketing outside of Europe will continue to be allowed and therefore they can continue to be manufactured.
For the moment, the group chaired by Luca de Meo only has plans to manufacture electric cars in France, while in Spain it is committed to hybrids. However, Josep Maria Recasens, president of Renault in Spain and global director of strategy, has not completely closed the door to manufacturing in Spain, as long as competitive conditions are guaranteed with an ecosystem of suppliers and gigafactories, among other elements.
Romania has been a serious rival for Horse’s headquarters. The Dacia subsidiary is located there, a pillar in the Renault business, and according to Comisiones Obreras, the lack of pronouncement of the Government of Pedro Sánchez against the new European Euro 7 emission regulations has also contributed to the doubts. Luca de Meo, who chairs the European employers’ association Acea, is one of the most active voices against this regulation.
