The Renault Valladolid Factory is a car plant at Valladolid, Castille and Leon, in north-western Spain owned by Renault España.^[3] It has evolved into a grouping of several plants clustered together on a 150-hectare site.^[4]

History

In response to Spanish government limits on imports of completed cars, Renault established in 1951 the Spanish FASA (Fabricacion de Automoviles SA) company which built a plant at Valladolid for the assembly of Renault 4CV cars using components imported from France. In 1953, the first year of production, 707 cars emerged from the plant.^[4] By 1958, annual output had risen to 7,547 units.

The company first produced complete engines in Spain in 1961: by this time the principal model produced at Valladolid was the Dauphine.^[4] Production levels continued increasing, with the plant producing 14,537 Dauphines in 1961.^[4]

1965 saw the amalgamation of the production business, FASA, with Renault's Spanish distribution company, SAEAR (Société Anonyme Espagnole des Automobiles Renault), which had originally been created in 1908 to distribute cars imported from France, long before import restrictions persuaded the company to create its assembly facility at Valladolid.^[4]

By 1971, production had increased to 110,255 vehicles, including most of the company's smaller mainstream models such as the Renault 8 and Renault 4.^[4] The Renault 5 was added to the plant's production line in 1974, triggering a further expansion of FASA output. By the 1970s, Spain was firmly established as the second largest market for Renault cars after France, and paved the way for Ford to open a new factory at Valencia in 1976, and Opel to build a factory at Zaragoza in 1982, while Volkswagen began building cars in SEAT factories after taking over the former Spanish division of Fiat.^[4]

As of 2014, the plant produces the Captur and the Twizy. It manufactured 124,944 cars and 1,247,579 engines in 2013.^[5]

References