AKKA designs the finish of the EOLAB, Renault’s new prototype

Renault, the AKKA’ second biggest automotive client, has chosen Proceda, the Group’s center of excellence dedicated to style and show-car, in order to design and manufacture the interior and exterior parts of the Eolab.

Previewed at the Paris Motor Show in 2014, Eolab is the new technological showcase of the French car manufacturer. This working prototype incorporates over a hundred innovations to reduce consumption by 2020. Renault has optimized its aerodynamics, reduced the weight by 400kg compared to a similar size vehicle and added a hybrid engine to achieve only 1l/100 km.

Combining aerodynamics and lightweight, the Group’s engineers have mobilized from style and engineering to manufacturing and assembly of a large number of external parts, including the bonnet, the tailgate, the front doors, the bumpers and the rear lights. Inside, Proceda has also designed and realized the inner trims, the dashboard, the cockpit and the central console.

Alongside this work, Proceda brought its manufacturing know-how and its knowledge of materials like aluminium, plexiglas or carbon fiber to design sturdy and light parts. For example, Proceda’s team thermoformed the tailgate rear window to comply with the weight target that had been set or created an exterior opening control that fits in perfectly with the style of the front doors.

As all these different skills work so closely together, AKKA shortened the convergence time needed to study different aspects before production could begin. Moreover, Proceda used 3D prototyping as a decision-making tool that also helped to reduce development time.

This project demonstrates AKKA’s expertise in terms of design, engineering and manufacturing, as well as its ability to mobilize its strengths on a project to reach the high-quality requested by our client. Thanks to a successful collaborative relationship between the Group’s French and German teams, AKKA shows that it is capable of offering cutting-edge solutions to the automotive industry. TheGroup has thus been able to prove that it can manage cross-border projects, and establishes itself as a leading technological figure for the vehicles of the future.