Heuliez closes its doors

The last few days have not been entirely good for the European industry. With the closures of the British plant in Southampton of Ford and of Volvo in Udevalla, the closure of one of the most important French plants of the PSA group, in the heart of France (the Aulnay plant), has followed as of 1 November. Heuliez has closed its doors after 93 years in operation.

Heuliez was one of the most important French subcontractors, which at one point built vehicles for Citroen, Peugeot, Renault and Opel. Its problems began in 2006, when it was manufacturing most of the units of the Opel Tigra. It moved from building complete models to manufacturing body parts, though without the success it had achieved in earlier years, when it made cars.

After three bankruptcy filings in the last four years, its current owners and main investors decided it was time to stop financing a company that was heading towards certain death. The French government itself could have intervened to save Heuliez, but preferred to stay on the sidelines and devote its efforts to other aid and share purchases in Renault as well as in the PSA Group.

Heuliez also built some prototypes of its own, the most recent being the Heuliez WILL (photo) from 2009, which offered for the first time an electric traction system within the wheels and an electric suspension system as well. In addition, the space that other vehicles devote to the engine, whether electric or combustion, was freed up inside the chassis, allowing greater use of the cabin.

Source | Automotive News