Renault Plans Production Of New Entry-Level Car In China
- French car maker Renault SA (13190.FR) unveiled a new entry-level car that will spearhead its efforts to conquer fast-growing markets outside western Europe, and disclosed that it is planning to produce the vehicle in China as well as in five other countries.
"China will make a significant contribution to this project," Renault Chairman and Chief Executive Louis Schweitzer said at a press conference.
The new car, a three-box sedan that will be called the Logan, will be produced initially at a completely modernized plant belonging to Dacia, the Romanian auto manufacturer that Renault took over in 1999.
Renault is targeting worldwide production of the Logan and its variants of 700,000 units by 2010. Production at Dacia's Pitesti plant will start this year, with an output capacity of 200,000 units annually. In 2005 the cars will be built in Russia, then Morocco and Colombia. Another assembly site will open in Iran in 2006. Renault is investing EUR300 million in the Iranian facility, which will have a capacity of 300,000 units a year.
The cars assembled in Morocco, Russia and Iran will be made from parts exported from Dacia's plant at Pitesti. Renault is targeting aggregate production of 150,000 units at these sites.
Whether the Logan will be sold under the Renault or Dacia badges will depend on local markets. In central Europe, Turkey, North Africa and the Middle East, where Renault already has a presence, the Logan will be marketed under the Dacia brand.
In markets such as Russia, where it is absent, the cars will bear Renault 's diamond-shaped badge to give Renault an initial presence and will compete in the EUR8,000 to EUR10,000 segment that accounts for 90% of the Russian market. The company is investing EUR230 million to make the Logan in the Moscow plant of Avtoframos, a joint venture of Renault and Moscow city authorities, with an annual output capacity of 60,000 vehicles.
Renault expects the Russian market to grow by 30% over the next three years.
Reaffirming the Renault group's overall target of producing 4 million cars a year by 2010, Schweitzer said China will be the sixth production site for the Logan. Renault has said it will unveil its industrial strategy for China toward the middle of this year. The French group is expected to piggyback on the Chinese presence of its 44%-owned Japanese affiliate, Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY).
But Schweitzer said the cars sold in China will be marketed under the Renault brand rather than Nissan's in order to increase the company's profile there. "We can't gain visibility at the same time with two brands," he told a group of journalists.
He said the company's Chinese strategy hasn't been nailed down yet, as it is still waiting for approvals from the Chinese government. "That means we aren't free to decide alone what we will do in China," he said.
Schweitzer went on to say that the Logan "won't be the only vehicle that we will sell in China."
The Logan is the first manifestation of Renault 's X90 project to build a modern, robust, reliable and affordable family car with an entry-level price - depending on models and markets - of EUR5,000. Excluding the Logan program cost, Renault will have spent EUR489 million on the X90 project by the end of this year, mainly on upgrading Dacia's plant.
The company is targeting the gradually emerging middle class in central and eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
But Schweitzer said he couldn't rule out that the Logan might be sold in more mature markets, noting, "There's nothing to be ashamed about with this car."
After the commercial launch of the Logan in Romania in September, the car will go on sale in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey and Slovakia. In 2005, product launches will take place in Poland, the Baltic states, Bulgaria and Moldavia.
雷诺计划在中国生产新款入门级轿车
法国汽车制造商雷诺公司(Renault SA, 13190.FR)新发布了一款入门级车型，并以此车型作为打入西欧之外增长迅速的市场的先发产品，而且雷诺还透露，计划在中国以及其他5个国家生产这款汽车。
雷诺董事长兼任首席执行长Louis Schweitzer在一个新闻发布会上称，中国将为该计划作出显著的贡献。
这款新车为三厢轿车，命名为Logan，将首先在罗马尼亚汽车制造商Dacia的一个完全现代化的工厂中生产。雷诺公司于1999年收购了Dacia。
雷诺计划2010年前生产70万辆Logan及其改型车。Dacia位于Pitesti的工厂将于今年开始生产，年产能力为20万辆。2005年生产范围将扩大至俄罗斯、摩洛哥、以及哥伦比亚。2006年另一条组装线将于伊朗开始生产。雷诺公司将在伊朗的生产设施上投资3亿欧元，年产能力将达到30万辆。
在摩洛哥、俄罗斯和伊朗组装汽车的配件将来自Dacia位于Pitesti的工厂。雷诺公司将上述生产地点的总产量目标定为15万辆。
Logan轿车以雷诺还是Dacia的品牌销售将取决于当地市场的情况。在中欧、土耳其、北非和中东等雷诺已经拥有一定市场占有率的地方，Logan轿车将以Dacia品牌销售。
在雷诺还没有进入的俄罗斯等国家的市场，Logan轿车将打上雷诺的菱形标志，使雷诺首次进入俄罗斯市场，并且在占据俄罗斯汽车市场90%的8,000-10,000欧元价格区域与其他厂商进行竞争。雷诺将其与莫斯科市政府合资的Avtoframos工厂投资2.3亿欧元，以生产Logan轿车，年产量将达到6万辆。
雷诺预计，俄罗斯汽车市场将在未来3年内增长30%。
Schweitzer重申，雷诺的总体目标到2010年总体汽车年产400万辆。他说，中国将是Logan轿车第六个产地。雷诺将在今年年中公布在中国的产业战略。预计雷诺将充分利用其拥有44%股份的日本关联公司日产汽车(Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., 7201.TO)目前在中国市场的地位。
但是Schweitzer称，在中国出售的汽车将以雷诺品牌而不是日产品牌进行营销，以提高雷诺在中国的知名度。他告诉记者们称，他们无法让两个品牌同时增加曝光率。
他说，雷诺的中国市场战略还没有最终敲定，因为该公司仍然在等待中国政府的批准。他说，这意味著他们无法独立自主地决定他们在中国市场的战略。
Schweitzer还称，Logan轿车仅仅是他们即将在中国销售的车型之一。
Logan轿车是雷诺X90项目下生产出的第一款车型，该项目的目的是制造现代化、耐用和价位适度的家用型轿车，定价为入门级价格5,000欧元（根据车型和市场不同有所变动）。不包括Logan项目的成本，雷诺到今年年底前向X90项目的投入将达到4.89亿欧元，主要用于Dacia工厂的设备和技术升级。
该公司目标瞄准了中欧、东欧、拉丁美洲和中东逐渐崛起的中产阶级。
但是Schweitzer称，Logan轿车也有可能在较为成熟的市场销售，他指出，买这辆车没什么可丢人的。
今年9月份Logan轿车在罗马尼亚正式开始发售之后，将开始在克罗地亚、捷克、匈牙利、土耳其和斯洛伐克销售。2005年，雷诺将在波兰、保加利亚和摩尔多瓦等发布这款轿车。
