Renault and Punch Torino join forces to develop low-emission diesel engines

The Renault group and Punch Torino have signed a strategic collaboration agreement to develop low-emission diesel engines. The binding agreement covers the four-cylinder diesel engines of the brand with the rhombus badge for light commercial vehicles. As both parties have confirmed, “Punch will be able to buy, use and sell the current and future 4-cylinder diesel engines of Renault. Renault Group will take this collaboration into Project Horse, which was announced during its Capital Market Day”.

Furthermore, as part of Project Horse, the engineering teams of the French brand will continue developing combustion engines and will collaborate with the Punch teams. In this way, they will be able to develop Euro 6 and Euro 7 variants of Renault’s four-cylinder engine blocks, which will begin production in 2025.

The rhombus brand itself has noted that “thanks to this agreement, Punch will benefit from the long experience of Renault Group in engine production and the technical skills of the Cléon teams, which will deliver the best diesel engines in their category that comply with European regulations and customer needs”.

This is how the collaboration between Renault and Punch Torino will work

Pierpaolo Antonioli, Chief Technology Officer of the Punch group and General Manager of Punch Torino, has stated that “we are delighted with this new partnership with a global player such as Renault Group. Undoubtedly, our experience alongside a car manufacturer has helped us gain credibility for this cooperation. We are very much looking forward to seizing the opportunities of an expanded engine portfolio”.

It is worth mentioning that this agreement could lay the groundwork for cooperation on hydrogen-powered combustion engines. Punch, through Punch Hydrocells, its subsidiary, would bring extensive experience in this type of zero-emission fuel.

In addition, the Renault group, thanks to this new agreement, would benefit from “the high level of engineering expertise” of Punch Torino for the development of powertrains, “backed by more than fifteen years of activity alongside a global car manufacturer”. We will see by 2025 how the agreement develops and how fruitful the results are, both with diesel and hydrogen engines.