Groupe Renault has identified some 20 projects to deploy blockchain technology. These projects concern, in particular, the traceability of financial transactions and communication with equipment manufacturers and the sales network. Some of these will be deployed soon.

For Groupe Renault, blockchain has to be used as a collaborative, multi-company digital tool within the automotive sector, thereby becoming a source of increased productivity and collective intelligence. For the customer, for example, it makes it possible to certify the repair and maintenance information on a vehicle when it is resold.

Groupe Renault also consider blockchain as a vector for the transformation of the automotive industry.

Groupe Renault has been working on blockchain technology since 2015. First appearing in finance, while respecting the ownership of the data items, it allowed real-time networked transactions that are secure since there is no risk of falsification.

In the blockchain, any new item of information will not overwrite an existing item. Rather, it is written to a new digital record known as a “block”. This block is verified by the network’s machines via algorithms that check, especially, the legitimacy of the issuer and the quality of the data. Once validated, the block joins the chain of unalterable blocks, hence the name, “blockchain”.

A car manufacturer, its suppliers, its parts manufacturers and its customers are all ecosystems in which the need for fast, transparent, joined-up information is crucial. Blockchain technology is an opportunity to move from the traditional customer-supplier relationship to a more sustainable partnership relationship.