AUTOMOTIVE
Northern France lies at the heart of the automotive market, less than one shipping day from two-thirds of Europe’s automakers—and their subcontractors. It’s the perfect place to launch your operation, find partners, and enter the market.

NO. 1 AUTOMOTIVE REGION IN FRANCE
KEY FIGURES
- 3 international automakers with 7 manufacturing sites
- Over 550 automotive equipment manufacturers, suppliers and subcontractors
- Over 50,000 jobs
- 31% of all vehicles made in France
- 600 000 engines and 1.3 million gearboxes produced each year
- Nearly two-thirds of Europe’s automakers are within 500 km
7 Sites
ELITE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT
ADVANCED RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS
LAGIS — automation, IT engineering and signal lab
L2EP — power electronics/powertrains
IFSSTAR — French institute for science and technology in transport, development and networks
IEMN —electronics, microelectronics and nanotechnologies institute
CISIT — international campus for transport security and intermodality
C3T — technological expertise in land transport
CRITT M2A — regional center for innovation and technological transfer in engines and automotive acoustics
CREPIM — research and study center for fireproofing processes (materials)
University of Valenciennes and Hainaut-Cambrésis
Ecole des Mines de Douai — industrial engineering
And many more
CLOSE-UP: I-TRANS COMPETITIVENESS CLUSTER
A world-class cluster for sustainable transport
- AREAS OF ACTIVITY:
Automotive
Rail interoperability
Freight-passenger intermodality
Intelligent transport systems—ITS - 120 member companies—40,000 jobs affected
- Over 30 research and training centers
- Over 2,400 researchers
- Over 199 projects sponsored
- Over €420 million in R&D spending
HIGHLY TRAINED LABOR POOL
KEY FIGURES
- 6 million inhabitants
- 33% of the population is under 25
- 2,000 students enrolled in mobility-oriented programs
SPECIALIZED TRAINING PROGRAMS
- Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Mécanique Energétique (ENSIAME) in Valenciennes — energy mechanics / engineering
- Ecole Centrale de Lille — engineering
- Ecole des Mines de Douai — industrial engineering
- Hautes Etudes d’Ingénieur (HEI) — advanced engineering
- Institut Catholique des Arts et Métiers (ICAM) — engineering
- Institut Supérieur de Design (ISD) — advanced design for transport systems