An overlooked issue in the industry: Renault turns to AI for solutions

The rapid electrification of the automotive industry presents wholly new challenges for manufacturers, among which is the need for swift and effective transformation of the model range. The speed of designing new models is rapidly becoming a critical issue.

A significant shift towards the production of electric cars is posing a challenge faced by most brands. Not all are opting for full electrification, but even for partial transformation, substantial investments and the birth of entirely new projects are necessary.

This creates a bottleneck that delays the launch of new models. This revolves around the general design work, not simply the design itself, which is a highly time-consuming process that spans across several months, but also the total development of the car in terms of technology, performance, comfort, and safety.

Currently, many new electric models are being introduced to the market, and the design procedures and methodologies, as admitted by experts at the largest corporations, are not as refined as those for combustion engine cars. In the case of the latter, strategies have been honed over several decades, although enhancement is always possible. Electric technology, on the current scale, is still in its early stages compared to this.

Hence, Renault has decided to find a way to streamline both the design process and their production process. The final plans were announced by Thierry Charvet, Renault's Director of Industry and Quality, during an event that took place on Thursday, December 7th.

By 2027, the French brand aims to shorten the development time of its new models from three to two years. It's an ambitious plan, but its realization will bring significant improvements to the manufacturer's operations. Additionally, over the next four years, Renault aims to lower the production costs of combustion engine cars by 30 percent, and electric cars by up to 50 percent. The production time of each car is also expected to be reduced by several hours.

To achieve this, Renault plans to leverage the potential of artificial intelligence. Currently, AI is employed in 300 operational applications, a number anticipated to surge to 3000 by 2025. According to "Automotive News Europe", technology is set to assist with work concerning electronics, performance adjustments, and assembly of batteries and electric motors.

Improvements in the logistics process are also on Renault's checklist. If everything unfolds as planned, in a few years, the delivery time of cars could be reduced by as much as 60 percent.