PARIS, France – Models in
the X90 programme will account for a significant proportion of the four
million passenger cars the Renault group is planning to produce each year
by 2010.
Renault CEO Louis Schweitzer announces the €5,000 Dacia Logan |
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Target annual production of 700,000 units has been set for the
so-called €5,000 ($6,100) car range, but demand from new markets
may well drive the figure higher, said CEO Louis Schweitzer when the new
range was previewed at the company’s Technocentre design studio
at Guyancourt.
“Our potential in Russia could well double the 120,000 units that
were forecast, and I believe a similar situation might apply in Iran,” he told AE at the unveiling of the first vehicle in the ambitious project
to create a spacious and modern passenger car with an entry-level price
lower than the cost of the average used vehicle.
Badged as the Logan and crucial to the rejuvenation of Dacia, the Romanian
manufacturer that first became part of Renault in 1999, the three-box
model will be marketed as offering the best-in-class ratio of price relative
to size.
“This is a full five-seater that comes with the ability to carry
large amounts of luggage in its boot, boasts design to international standards
and is a 100 per cent Renault product.
| “It supplies all the fundamentals of a modern vehicle, with
dynamic features and an attractive, upmarket appearance and we will
sell it under the Renault brand on some markets. Whether the Dacia
or Renault badge is used will depend on the characteristics of each
market and on how long and in what circumstances Renault has been
established there,” explained Schweitzer. |
According to the company, Logan will be a Dacia in central Europe, Turkey,
northern Africa and the Middle East.
“In other markets where Renault is relatively unknown, Logan will
win us new customers. I think our chances of success in Russia are particularly
good because 90 per cent of vehicles sold there cost between €8,000
($9,800) and €10,000 ($12,300),” added the Renault CEO.
In addition to the Pitesti pilot plant in Romania, the car will also be
manufactured in Russia, Morocco, Columbia and Iran, with investment announced
to date in new facilities totalling €568mn ($700mn).
Company officials say the markets being targeted cover a wide mix of economies
and business environments but insist they offer high growth potential
for the automotive sector.
Unique in the company’s history, the X90 is the first Renault designed
to be marketed outside Western Europe – at least initially. On sale
from the end of this year, Logan will be introduced with 1.4 and 1.6 litre
petrol engines. From 2007, other body styles will be added, including
an estate and a small van.
Engineering project manager Odile Panciatici said the car’s design
featured tried and tested solutions to aid cost reduction and reliability.
“We decided on traditional types of steel because they are easy
to adapt to production methods where processes are less automated and
can be sourced locally.
| “Limitations of stamping have also been taken into consideration,
and we’ve kept the number of contours in the bodywork to a minimum
to simplify the production of manufacturing tooling, but despite the
lack of automation, it is still possible to fit a one-piece exhaust
system to the underbody,” he said. |
Logan’s B platform body structure stems from the Alliance B platform
and the Clio and uses the maximum number of shared components in order
to reduce cost. The same rear view mirror is used on either side of the
vehicle, and fitting a single winder in the rear doors avoids the cost
of adding a quarterlight.
The car’s heating system comes from the next-generation Clio but
its engine compartment is taken from the current Clio, with which it shares
engines, front suspension system, steering and rear brakes, as well as
instrument panel, door handles, steering wheel and column switches.
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