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
    • Browse photos from the 2021 awards ceremony
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • 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: Battery testing center for large battery packs and more
    • 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
March 16, 2018 01:00 AM

Renault said to shift more Clio production to Turkey

Gilles Guillaume
Laurence Frost
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    The Clio is Renault's bestseller in Europe.

    PARIS -- Renault plans to move more production of its Clio subcompact car to Turkey, company and industry sources told Reuters.

    The shift is likely to be the start of a domestic manufacturing phase-out for the brand's top-selling model, a move that would be politically sensitive in France.

    Currently, Renault builds the Clio in Flins, France; Novo Mesto, Slovenia; and Bursa Turkey.

    In future 94 percent of the Clios will be built in Bursa and Novo Mesto, according to one industry source, with the remaining 6 percent assembled at Flins. The Flins production probably would be only for the first 2-3 years of peak sales.

    "Bursa will be the main plant for the new Clio, followed by Novo Mesto," said another source with knowledge of the plan. "Flins will top up production when those two sites can't meet demand."

    In 2010, Renault scrapped plans to transfer all Clio production abroad after a showdown with the French government, its biggest shareholder.  Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn was summoned for a dressing-down by Nicolas Sarkozy, then France's president. Renault was seeking to boost Clio sales in emerging markets such as Turkey and reduce production costs.

    This time, lower Clio output in France will be offset by rising electric car production, blunting its political edge.

    Flins accounted for about 15 percent of Clio output last year. It also builds the Zoe electric car and is in line for new electrified vehicle production, making the Clio transfer more palatable for unions and the state.

    Reduced Clio output at Flins, expected to peak at 25,000 cars and tail off rapidly, may not be enough to justify the tooling investments required for full manufacturing. Instead, other Renault sites might ship pre-assembled "CKD" modules to a simplified Flins production line, two sources said.

    The next Clio would combine bold interior changes to accommodate connected and autonomous technologies with gentler exterior styling tweaks that build on the current model's success, the French carmaker's design chief told Reuters. "At Renault we used to be in the habit of reinventing everything all the time," Laurens van den Acker said in a recent interview at the Geneva auto show. "So it's almost a little revolution to take a more German approach."

    The next Clio is expected to get a hybrid version equipped with Renault's "Locobox" gasoline-electric transmission.

    A Renault spokesman said no formal decision had been made on Clio production. "The work is still ongoing," he said. "Any comment on it would be incomplete, erroneous and premature."

    The Clio is Renault's best-selling model in Europe with a volume of 325,137 last year, up 3.9 percent on 2016, according to market researchers JATO Dynamics.

    The Clio has notched up 15 million sales over four generations since its 1990 launch and was Europe's second best-selling car last year after the Volkswagen Golf.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Automotive News Europe awards the 2022 Rising Stars
    Recommended for You
    2022 ANE Rising Stars winners
    Automotive News Europe awards the 2022 Rising Stars
    Andreas-Christoph Hofmann 2021 Eurostars
    Hyundai marketing VP Andreas-Christoph Hofmann to speak at Automotive News Europe Congress
    Monica Perez Lobo Toyota 2022
    Toyota Europe ESG director Monica Perez Lobo to speak at Automotive News Europe Congress
    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 © 1996-2022. 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
        • Browse photos from the 2021 awards ceremony
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • 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: Battery testing center for large battery packs and more
        • 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