The Janais automotive site wants to get into two-wheelers

The huge Janais site south of Rennes sounded very empty on Tuesday morning. Still affected by a shortage of semiconductors, the Stellantis (ex-PSA) factory has been shut down since Wednesday evening and its 2,000 employees on technical unemployment until at least July 1. To find a bit of activity in this temple of the automobile, where the Peugeot 5008 and the Citroën C5 Aircross are manufactured, you have to go in the direction of building 78. Bought last year by the metropolis, this vast hangar of 25,000 m² must be transformed by 2024 into an augmented industrial incubator for young shoots working on sustainable construction and carbon-free mobility.

If nothing is signed yet, one of the first start-ups to settle there should be Galian. Founded three years ago in Rennes, the company is entering the booming market of electrically assisted cargo bikes with a first prototype of its Capitaine Cargo which was presented to partners on Tuesday. A two-wheeler which must eventually “replace the second car in homes”, hopes Vincent Renard, co-founder of Galian.

A cargo bike sold between 6,500 and 8,500 euros

2.5 meters long, the machine is imposing compared to other models and offers the possibility of transporting two young children or shopping bags in its front trunk and an adult in its rear seat. “No other cargo bike on the market offers this possibility”, assures Franck Lamiré, one of the four partners. Manufactured and assembled for the moment by the company Milc in the Hautes-Pyrénées, before perhaps being one day at the Janais, the Capitaine Cargo wants to be as much made in France as possible. “About 60% of the added value is achieved in France,” says Vincent Renard. We would like much more but we have no other choice but to source certain parts from abroad”.

Currently in the pre-marketing phase, the Rennes cargo bike will be put into production by the end of the year. The first 50 copies should thus be put into circulation before spring. Given its expensive price (between 6,500 and 8,500 euros all the same), the Capitaine Cargo will be offered for hire with option to buy. This will notably be the case at the Maison du vélo located near the station or at the Ta grand-mère à vélo shop on the Mitterrand mall.