Built in Canada

With Renaults being sold in so many countries, North America forms a great exception in the world. After the manufacturer transferred its activities to Chrysler in 1987, the Renault brand name fell into oblivion in the US and Canada. Local production of the Alliance and Encore models in North America is still known to enthusiasts, though. But the fact that Renault assembled cars in Canada between 1965 and 1973 also, is one of the better kept secrets.

In Saint Bruno de Montarville, some twenty kilometres from Montreal, a new assembly plant was commissioned in early 1965, named S.O.M.A. - for Société de Montage Automobile. The plant was the result of a collaboration between the government of Quebec, the Régie Renault and the French state through its financing branch Société Générale de Financement (SGF). After the initial plans had been made in 1963, the first contact between Pierre Dreyfus of Renault and SGF’s director Gérard Fillion took place on November 20, 1964.

An agreement was signed on the financing of 3.5 million Canadian dollars in a new plant in Saint Bruno de Montarville to assemble cars in CKD form.

In addition to Renault, Peugeot also showed an interest in Canadian assembly. But both French motor manufacturers do not invest in a factory themselves. Both manufacturers are granted with free import of car bodies, other certain parts and a reduced import tariff on engines for a five-year period. Furthermore, the agreement states that if S.O.M.A. makes fewer than 9,000 cars on an annual basis, Renault can withdraw from the deal.

By early 1965 the factory was ready to start assembling the Renault Dauphine, 8- and 10 models, but also the Peugeot 204 and 404. The first car made in November 1965 is a Renault 8 but the plans soon change. The Dauphine will never be built here and Peugeot gives up after just over year. There are no known figures for the number of Peugeots built there but total production reached 8,094 units in 1968. That number continued to grow slowly to 9,739 units in 1969, 9,550 cars in 1970 and 11,980 in 1971 – the best year. But the factory was losing money and relations between the government of Quebec and Renault were becoming increasingly difficult. The planned launch of the Renault 12 was plagued by difficulties also and both parties accused each other of not complying with the agreements.

In February 1972 the factory was closed for several months and on June 29th that year, Renault announced the contract to be cancelled from 30 June 1973-on, also the date that production of the Renault 8 in France ended. In a subsequent press release dated November 29, Renault proposed to stop production as soon as the plant would ran out of parts needed to assemble the Renault 8, which happened at the end of January 1973. No wonder that production dropped considerably in 1972 to 5,542 cars, while in January 1973 only some 500 cars were being built.

Renault claims to have lost 200 dollars per produced car in Saint Bruno, when compared to importing the same models from Europe. New alliance partners are being sought (Nissan and Toyota). But the assembly line, with its maximum capacity of 15,000 cars per year, never achieved any of those numbers.

When the Canadian government expressed it had no longer any willingness to invest in the car industry in the early 1970s, it’s ultimately the death blow for Renault of Canada – or so a former employee remembers. But there may also have been other explanations, too, such as poor management and the fact that the cars did not meet the safety and environmental standards. And then there were the harsh climatic conditions in the country. During the years of existence there were a number of strikes also. And then too many managers are believed to have been employed, while the required components often arrived from France with delays. For all those reasons the plant was running at a maximum of three-quarters of its capacity. Until the early 1980s, the site was still being used as a parts centre, while a number of components was also produced for the American Renault 5. These can be recognized by the ‘Produit au Canada’ stamping.

In addition to Canadian production, Renault also sold import cars. The range in Canada was quite a lot broader than it was in the US. Over the years, Canadian motorists could choose from the 4CV, Dauphine, Caravelle, Relay, R4, R8, R10, R12, R15, R16, R17, R5, R18, 30TS and Fuego, to the Allliance, Encore and Medaillon.

For surviving S.O.M.A.-assembled cars in Canada, you need a magnifying glass never the less. Garage owner Lionel Hondier of Vancouver bought this steel blue 16 TS of 1969-vintage a couple of years ago from James White, who owned it for at least 20 years. Lionel kept on running into James in a yearly classic car event and they became friends. Lionel: “I told him right from the start that if he ever sold the car, he would have to think of me, as it would be a shame if this special Renault ended up in parts.”

Upon taking a good look at the car, there is a number of things that stand out. Apart from a couple of small details, the TS looks similar to its European sister model. American Renault 16s were after all equipped with double round headlights, corner bars on its bumpers and rectangular side lights also. This Canadian car comes with standard-sized headlights, standard bumpers, and small round light units on its rear wings. According to a brochure, these lights should also be fitted to the front wings. The rear lights, however, are similar to ones of the US version and are fully red in colour.

The reversing lights fitted to this TS are of a different design and were probably sourced locally by S.O.M.A.. We eagerly look for features to confirm that this car was actually made in Saint Bruno under its bonnet and find one: on the right inner wheel arch you can find the remains of a yellow decal which mentions ‘Renault - made in Canada’. The oval shaped plate carrying type number R1151 and the diamond-shaped one with the chassis number are clearly supplied from France and do not mention the Canadian assembly.

A grand total of over 12,000 Renault 16s was sold in Canada, of which now only a handful survive. Despite the fact that the condition of Lionel’s car leaves a lot to be desired, the historical value of it is great. The car deserves a restoration, but Lionel is not the man to carry it out himself. He is currently looking for a caring next owner who understands the value of this specific 16TS and will cherish it accordingly.