Reindustrialize France with electric bikes. Despite its English overtones, the Fifteen company is very French. Fully committed to a “made in France” approach, it has joined forces with the automotive company F2J Industry to inaugurate the first bicycle assembly line in France, located in Auxi-le-Château, a town in Pas-de- Calais which, in 2019, had around 2,500 inhabitants.
Production of 45,000 bicycles
Created more than fifteen years ago, Fifteen occupies a position of European leader in the design, manufacture and deployment of public bicycle rental services. More than 50,000 self-service bicycles are deployed in ten countries. Alongside it, F2J is a player in automotive subcontracting. Together, they aim, by 2025, to produce 50% of an electric bicycle in France.
Since the beginning of May, Fifteen’s latest generation bike has been assembled in the new French factory. “45,000 bicycles will be able to be produced here. This allows us to create around fifty jobs and participate in the relocation of the industrial cycling sector in France,” explains Benoit Yameundjeu, CEO of Fifteen. In addition, the duo’s next objective is to carry out the assembly of batteries in Puy-de-Dôme, the manufacture of electromagnets in Haute-Savoie and to have other industrial assembly tools nearby.
A project supported by France
Indeed, according to Fifteen and F2J Industry, currently, in France, a quarter of the bicycles sold on the territory are produced there. The project was supported by Bpifrance to the tune of 450,000 euros as part of a call for projects.
This opportunity offered by the two companies was applauded by Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate for Industry. But also by Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region, during the inauguration: “Another fine example of the conversion of an industrial site! From cars to bicycles, this project shows that the industry is capable of adapting, that it has a future in our region and that it will continue to create jobs there,” he said. This is a new step in the “economic and ecological reindustrialisation” of France.