12:57 31-01-2026
Renault R5 electric vehicle leads market with production challenges
Renault R5 electric car tops French EV market in 2025, surpassing Tesla Model Y, but high demand strains production at Douai plant, requiring night shifts and staff reinforcements.
Renault has experienced a rare phenomenon in the automotive industry: the new R5 electric car has become so successful that it has effectively overwhelmed the entire production chain. In 2025, the model led the French electric vehicle market, even surpassing the Tesla Model Y, with total production exceeding 100,000 units just one year after sales began.
The key hub is the plant in Douai, where the R5 is produced alongside the Alpine A290, Nissan Micra, and other Renault EVs. Currently, the facility outputs around 900 cars per day, with two-thirds of that volume coming from the R5. Any disruption immediately translates into additional months of waiting, as demand significantly outstrips the plant's capacity.
To maintain momentum, Renault has launched a 600-person night shift and started pulling staff from various departments. Workers from the lower-utilization Cordoba plant in Argentina have temporarily arrived in Douai, joined by employees from Morocco and refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan.
The company confirms this reinforcement is needed long-term: ElectriCity plans to sign about 700 permanent contracts. For the Renault R5, this represents a chance to become Europe's leading mass-market electric vehicle, but the risk is also substantial—the model must avoid repeating the path of the ZOE, which lost its position due to pricing policy and weak product strategy.