Renault to combine three plants in France for electric drive       

Kevin Hourihan, Fleet Manager Kearys Renault, Mick Curtin, Cork Senior Football Kit Man, Ronan McCarthy, Cork Senior Football Manager, Martin Curtin, Head of Business Kearys Renault, Aonghus O'Duinnin, Sales Manager Kearys Renault, Kieran Kingston, Cork Senior Hurling Manager, Jim O'Keeffe, Kearys Pro + General Manager, Pat Keane, Cork Senior Hurling Kit Man, Julian Boylan, Kearys Pro + Van Centre with members of the Cork Senior Football and Hurling squads, at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork. Kearys Renault announced a three-year partnership with Cork GAA, presenting six new branded Kearys Renault Trafic vans. Picture: Jim Coughlan

French carmaker Renault will combine three of its plants in northern France into a new legal entity, Renault ElectriCity, to focus on electric vehicle manufacturing, two sources close to the matter said. 

The new company will include the Douai car assembly site, the Ruitz gearbox manufacturing site and the Maubeuge commercial vehicles assembly plant from January. 

Renault confirmed that a new project will be submitted to trade unions next week but declined further comment. 

Meanwhile, General Motors expects its first-half 2021 financial results to be significantly better than forecast earlier as semiconductor chip deliveries pick up in the second quarter, the carmaker said. 

The Detroit-based company also said it would ramp up production of large- and mid-sized pickups starting mid-July. Shares of the company, which restarted operations only recently after factories had been idled due to a global semiconductor chips shortage, rose on the news. 

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Demand for new vehicles has risen during the pandemic in the US as consumers' prefer to travel by their own cars than using public transportation. The company said it was "optimistic" for the full year. It had previously told investors it expected adjusted earnings for the first half to be around $5.5bn (€4.5bn) 

• Reuters