Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automotive News Europe
February 10, 2012 12:00 AM

Renault begins Lodgy production in Morocco, targets Europe

Bruce Gain
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    PARIS -- Renault has opened its new Dacia plant in Tangiers, Morocco. The factory will build the Lodgy minivan and an as-yet unnamed model for European and other markets.

    The plant will have a annual capacity of 400,000 units by 2013 and will export 85 percent of its production to Europe, Africa, Mexico, and Middle East.

    Europe, Dacia's biggest market, will take most of the vehicles.

    The Tangiers facility complements Dacia's factory in Pitesti, Romania, which Renault said is at full capacity and will not produce the Lodgy.

    A Renault spokesperson would not comment on output targets at the new facility, where Renault will also produce a new commercial van based on a Dacia platform in addition to the Lodgy, which it goes on sale later this year.

    The plant's opening has generated a stir in France with critics accusing Renault of transferring jobs outside of the country, while ignoring the fact that the French government owns a 15 percent stake in the automaker.

    'Dangerous development'

    "We see this factory as a dangerous development," said Fabien Gache, a spokesman for the CGT, Renault's dominant French union. "These vehicles are basically 'Loganized' Scenics and Kangoos," Gache said. "They're bound to hit the Renault brand's market share."

    Renault said it has always based production of its low-cost Dacia brand cars outside of western Europe as part of its no-frills business model.

    "The question of building this factory in western Europe didn't even arise," Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said in a radio interview ahead of the plant  opening ceremony on Thursday. "That would have been incompatible with the concept" of low-cost vehicles, he said.

    Renault hopes the Lodgy will build on the success of its Dacia division. The estimated 10,000-12,000 euro entry price for the Lodgy, available in five- or seven-seater versions, compares with French prices starting from around 21,000 euros for a Renault Scenic or Volkswagen Touran, excluding special offers.

    The Dacia Lodgy, shown, will cost half the price of a Renault Scenic.

    The Lodgy builds on the surprise domestic success of Renault's low-cost Dacia brand. The original 2004 Logan sedan proved more successful in Europe than in many of the emerging markets for which it was designed, such as India. Dacia's Duster SUV has since become a runaway hit in France.

    Western European sales of Renault models dropped 8.5 percent in 2011, outpacing the region's overall 1.3 percent decline in car registrations, while Dacia increased its market share.

    Renault's low-cost entry vehicles, sold as Dacias in Europe and Renaults elsewhere, increased their share of group deliveries to one-third last year from about a quarter in 2010 - even after the withdrawal of government crisis incentives that favored cheaper cars.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    2022 Eurostar winner Enrico Salvatori of Qualcomm
    Recommended for You
    Enrico Salvatori
    2022 Eurostar winner Enrico Salvatori of Qualcomm
    Christian Dahlheim
    2022 Eurostar winner Christian Dahlheim of VW Financial Services
    Milan Nedeljkovic
    2022 Eurostar winner Milan Nedeljkovic of BMW
    Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sponsored Content: Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us