Normandy. 7 days a week, 24 hours a day: a look inside Renault's secret test center
For over 40 years, the Renault group has been testing its future models and its vehicles in circulation on a very discreet 613-hectare site adjoining a forest in Aubevoye, in the Eure department. A thousand people work in this technical and testing center, which operates 362 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Report
All prototypes from the four Renault group brands are being tested in Aubevoye, in the Eure department. Photo DR
It is on the 60 kilometers of tracks and on the test benches of the technical and test center of Aubevoye, one hour from Paris, that the new Renault Clio, which will be unveiled on September 7, has already covered hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Here, in Eure, the new commune of Val d'Hazay is home to one of the strategic sites of the Renault group .
Aubevoye is Stellantis's equivalent of Belchamp, near Sochaux. A 613-hectare site, a third of which is forest, which operates 24/7, 362 days a year. The site is only closed on December 25, January 1 , and May 1 .
A thousand people work there, both to test future vehicles from the group's brands (Renault, Dacia, Alpine, Mobilize) and cars already on the road. While recalls have been multiplying in recent months , improving the quality and reliability of cars remains the obsession of all manufacturers. As such, Aubevoye is a fantastic playground with its dust tunnels and fords for testing watertightness...
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Several tracks intertwine through the forest. The impressive speed ring allows test drivers to safely reach speeds of up to 250 km/h and record the car's reactions at a speed prohibited on the open road. It is also very useful for sports models, both production and competition, for Alpine, Renault Sport and even Dacia , now entered in the Dakar. Smaller are the tracks on dirt roads and paved tracks to test the resistance of the parts.
In total, six million kilometers of road tests are carried out each year. "City centers, highways, damaged roads, tight bends... Each prototype is subjected to the equivalent of five years of use in a few weeks and must remain as good as new," explains Dominique Berthier, leading reliability and durability expert at Renault Group.
The Renault technical and testing center in Aubevoye Val d'Hazay, in the Eure department, has 60 km of tracks, allowing for 6 million km of road tests to be carried out per year. Photo Thibaud Chevalier
To this end, the manufacturer also conducts numerous static laboratory tests. Each building at the Aubevoye technical and testing center is dedicated to a specific use. The electromagnetic compatibility center of expertise has one of the largest anechoic chambers in the world: 300 m² on the ground and 11 meters high, covered from floor to ceiling with 3,000 1.5 meter high absorbing cones.
"The number of electrical and electronic devices in a vehicle has more than quadrupled in 15 years. That's a lot of equipment to test," explains Anis Bouguechal. The head of the electromagnetic analysis laboratory points out that "electromagnetic waves can disrupt vehicle operation."
300 m² by 11 m high, 3,000 absorbent cones 1.5 m high… Renault in Aubevoye has one of the largest anechoic chambers in the world. This facility allows sound measurements to be taken. Photo Thibaud Chevalier
In a neighboring building, Jean-Marc Hellier and his team are responsible for the performance, fuel consumption, and range of all Renault Group vehicles, both passenger and commercial. Here, the tests are extreme, conducted on test benches where the car can travel at speeds of up to 250 km/h, in temperature ranges ranging from -30 to +50°C, and even in winds exceeding 200 km/h. Previously, the same tests were simulated digitally, with the results of the test benches used to enrich the databases.
Driving aids are carried out in real conditions with remote-controlled dummies. Photo DR
A little further on, here is the reliability and durability expertise center: 44 test benches, 18 corrosion chambers... These are in addition to road tests. "In five months, we simulate five years of aging in extreme conditions," says Dominique Berthier.
"Including sustainability in our DNA, by targeting the 200 most sensitive parts, which alone account for more than 80% of quality incidents, has allowed us to reach the level of the best. And we continue to improve," adds the head of Renault's reliability and durability division in Aubevoye. The site also has a center of expertise dedicated to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). 10,000 physical tests, concerning 36 ADAS systems, are conducted at Aubevoye. A little-known but essential site for the Renault group.
From design to launch: lead times reduced to two years
Renault is not immune to the global race that has been underway for the past five years to reduce vehicle development times. It took four years for the Clio and Australe, and three years for the Rafale and R5. The Twingo and subsequent models will be launched on the market after two years.
"It's about responding to customer expectations as quickly as possible. The challenge is economic. It's essential to be competitive," says Laurent Mouchet, Renault Group's Director of Preliminary Design and Vehicle Synthesis. In detail, the design phase time has been reduced by 16%, development by 40%, and industrialization by 40%.
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