2019 UN ROAD SAFETY WEEK: Groupe Renault & Essilor Pool Expertise to Better Integrate Visual Specifications to Improve Drivers’ Experience and Promote the Importance of Good Vision for Road Safety

As research shows 1 in 5 drivers in the world has uncorrected poor vision and 90% of the information needed to drive comes from vision. The interaction between eyeglasses and the interface systems in the car, both day and night, is obviously crucial. In the near future, this interaction is projected to increase further with the development of smart and connected devices, offering valuable improvements and new customer benefits. In that context, this two-part partnership aims to:

• develop global and local awareness and poor vision detection campaigns among customers and employees of Renault. During this week, specific activations will reinforce past actions begun during Renault Mobilize days and World Sight Day.
  
• improve the combined vision and driving experience through cross-expertise and product innovation. Expert investigation workshops are developed based on key use cases, including day and night glare, road/cockpit visual transition, peripheral and central attention focus, and Man-Machine Interfaces like legibility and color perception.

With this leading cross-sector collaboration with Essilor, we want to highlight the importance of vision for drivers and improve further our knowledge on the matter. Groupe Renault proves its commitment to safe mobility and shows an innovative way to keep placing the customer experience at the center of our cars’ specifications and features, with a look ahead on the future benefits of a connected world, added Nadine Leclair, SVP Expert Fellow of Groupe Renault.

This collaboration with Groupe Renault promises to drive outcomes that will improve people’s vision on the road. We are certain this partnership between two leaders in their field creates a unique opportunity to mobilize public awareness across a broader audience. Combining our respective expertise will result in better visual experience for drivers and contributes to Essilor’s mission of improving lives by improving sight, said Laurent Vacherot, Chief Executive Officer, Essilor International.

In addition to this new collaboration, both partners are involved in independent respective actions to promote road safety.

Road Safety is one of the key pillars of Mobilize, the Groupe Renault’s Social Responsibility strategy. The Group is willing to reduce mortality and anticipate the challenges of future mobility by rolling-out a road safety policy based on awareness, prevention, correction, protection and rescue. This policy has led for instance to: the birth of some Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), the donations of recent vehicles to train firefighters, the development of different employee trainings or educational program dedicated to road safety and sustainable mobility, or also the creation of the LAB with PSA Peugeot-Citroën, focused on accident research, biomechanics and human behavior 50 years ago.

In 2017, Essilor and Féderation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) partnered to lead the fight against the lack of awareness on the crucial link between vision and road safety, through the joint promotion of the FIA-created “Check your vision” golden rule, which stands together with other main risk factors on the road (speed, seat belts, mobile phone usage, etc). In line with its mission, Essilor is fully committed to further reinforce its product range, with solutions that answer drivers visual needs, and to continue to leverage innovation as a way to correct, protect and enhance the vision of all road users (drivers, pedestrians, cyclists...).

About Groupe Renault

Groupe Renault has manufactured cars since 1898. Today it is an international multi-brand group, selling close to 3.9 million vehicles in 134 countries in 2018, with 36 manufacturing sites, 12,700 points of sales and employing more than 180,000 people.

To address the major technological challenges of the future, while continuing to pursue its profitable growth strategy, Groupe Renault is focusing on international expansion. To this end, it is drawing on the synergies of its five brands (Renault, Dacia, Renault Samsung Motors, Alpine and LADA), electric vehicles, and its unique alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. With a 100% Renault owned team committed to the Formula 1 World Championship since 2016, the brand is involved in motorsports, a real vector for innovation and awareness.

About Essilor International

Essilor International is the world’s leading ophthalmic optics company. Essilor designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of lenses to improve and protect eyesight. Its mission is to improve lives by improving sight. To support this mission, Essilor allocates more than €200 million to research and innovation every year, in a commitment to continuously bring new, more effective products to market.

Its flagship brands are Varilux®, Crizal®, Transitions®, EyezenTM, Xperio®, Foster Grant®, BolonTM and Costa®. It also develops and markets equipment, instruments and services for eyecare professionals.

Essilor International is a subsidiary of EssilorLuxottica. The EssilorLuxottica share trades on the Euronext Paris market and is included in the Euro Stoxx 50 and CAC 40 indices. Codes and symbols: ISIN: FR0000121667; Reuters: ESLX.PA; Bloomberg: EL:FP.