Coinciding with the completion of the merger of the ports of Le Havre, Rouen, and Paris into the new Haropa entity, the company hosted a webinar on 27 May entitled “The future of the automotive industry and its impact on the finished vehicle logistics”.
Opening the event, Stephan Raison, CEO of the Haropa Port Complex said that 14 Ro/Ro Lines, including Brittany Ferries and Neptune Lines operate services through the Port of Le Havre serving, between them, 160 ports. 350,000 vehicles a year are handled of which two-thirds are imported. Current plans at Le Havre will increase capacity there to enable a throughput of 400,000 by 2025.
Haropa Commercial & Marketing director, Laurent Foloppe outlined the Port’s development plans to handle the increased volumes and changed type of vehicles expected to be moving through the port. Ten years ago, two thirds of the port activity was with export vehicles and the storage time at the port of such vehicles is typically four to five days, while that for imported vehicles is closer to twenty days. The switch to hybrid and electric vehicles (EV’s) leads to a demand for on-terminal plug-in facilities and the installation of a Solar panel farm. It is also clear that, in future, vehicles will be delivered direct from the terminal rather than through motor dealers.
Jean-Francois Salles, Alliance Supply Chain global VP at Renault Group, focused on the switch to EV’s. Already 10% of the European vehicle market is EV and by 2025, 30% of Renault output will be electric. While the retail cost of EV’s will continue to fall, he emphasized that 60% of the value is in the software and electronics. He expects personal car ownership to drop away in favour of use of vehicle provision services and also sees a significant increase in used vehicle sales and re-fitting. The switch to goods sale through e-commerce is already driving a significant lift in LCV sales.
On vehicle distribution Mr. Salles expects a switch to “green” transport modes. Renault is partnering in the “neo-line” project to introduce a sail powered car carrier into service during 2022.
The final speaker at the event was Daniel Gent, Energy & Sustainability Manager at UECC. The Company has been operating a biofueled vessel for over a year and is seeking to develop a low carbon powered fleet for its services throughout Europe. Howard Knott
