The story
History
Daniel Renard had no secondary education. In 1967 he opened a small garage in Douai, and in his spare time he built himself a three-wheeled microcar. That is the English Wikipedia’s account: a local newspaper wrote about the car, one of its readers ordered a copy, and the company followed.source 1 It was called Automobiles Erad, for Études et Réalisations du Douaisis, the studies and works of the Douai district.source 1source 2 It was founded in 1975, in Douai by one account and in Aniche by the other.source 1source 2 Series production began in 1978, once the firm had moved into larger premises at Aniche.source 1source 2
The first model was the Capucine, a licence-free car with a plastic body and a single seat. It was 1,690 mm (67 in) long, 1,250 mm (49 in) wide and 1,600 mm (63 in) tall, almost as high as it was long, and it weighed 170 kg (370 lb). Its engine was a 47 cc single-cylinder Sachs two-stroke.source 1source 2 There was a small boot for the shopping.source 1 The English Wikipedia describes two types, one driving the rear wheels and one the front, the second with a 50 cc Motobécane it calls controversial: a contra-piston worked as a compressor in the crankcase, for lower revs and more torque.source 1 An improved Capucine kept nearly the same body on a wider track.source 1
One version was built for a wheelchair user. The whole rear of the car became a single large door, hinged at the side, with a small ramp to roll up.source 1
More than 2,000 a year
Erad was one of the big producers of the French licence-free boom. It built nearly 2,400 vehicles in 1979 and about 2,640 in 1980, the year the German Wikipedia counts 105 employees.source 1source 2 In 1981 the range took two new engines: a 123 cc BCB petrol unit, for versions that needed a licence, and a 290 cc Farymann diesel, an early diesel in its class.source 1source 2 A 360 cc Petter AC1 diesel came later.source 1
The oddest Erad came in 1982. The Midget was a replica of the 1936 MG Midget, 2,700 mm (106 in) long, with a 125 cc two-stroke or a 600 cc diesel.source 1source 2 Under the period shape it had live axles on leaf springs at both ends and drum brakes all round, and it weighed 260 kg (573 lb). Only 24 were built.source 1 The Capucine was facelifted in 1984, and the range gained an open version and a four-seater.source 1source 2
The cheapest car in France
The Junior of 1988 was built down to a price. It had the headlamps of a Peugeot 205 and a single huge door that folded forward and took the roof with it.source 1 At 35,000 francs, says the German Wikipedia, no new car in France cost less.source 2 The Spacia of 1990 looked like the Renault Twingo, which arrived later, and was offered with diesels of up to 505 cc or as an electric car.source 1source 2 Of all the Erads built, 800 were electric.source 1source 2 The last new model was the Agora of 1993, a light two-seater.source 1source 2 The trade press also names a utility, the Utilit, and notes that most Erads used the firm’s own reversers, drive shafts and brakes.source 3
Renard leaves
Then a manager misappropriated money, and Erad fell into financial trouble.source 1 Renard left in 1995, says the Journal de l’Automobile, and founded a new company, SECMA, where he designed the Fun Tech to compete with scooters.source 3source 1 In 1997 the Erad works was sold to Savel, a new company also based at Aniche, and Erad production ended.source 1source 2 The Journal de l’Automobile tells it differently: Savel took over Erad’s assets after a failure in 2001, and Renard later bought the remaining stock from it.source 3 Savel was liquidated in 2002, and Renard bought back most of his old firm and folded it into SECMA.source 1
The firm he started second has kept the first one running. SECMA holds Erad parts in more than 2,000 m² (21,500 sq ft) of stores at Aniche, for nearly every model from the early 1980s on.source 3source 1
