I'm sure the squirrel under the hood is a "trade secret".
Posted on 04/07/2005 12:25:21 PM PDT by jb6
MOSCOW (AFP) - French automaker Renault launched production of its low-cost Logan model in Russia, hoping to plant a footprint in the promising Russian market where incomes are rising but car owners are scarce.
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The Logan, first introduced last September in Romania, will retail in Russia at between 8,000 and 12,000 dollars (6,150-9,230 euros), compared with initial estimates of around 6,000 dollars, said chairman and chief executive Louis Schweitzer.
Schweitzer told a news conference here that a 6,000-dollar price tag would have required "a degree of local integration and a production pace that were much too high."
At the moment, 80 percent of new passenger cars sold in Russia are priced at less than 8,000 dollars.
If sales justify it, production capacity for the Logan in Russia could in theory be doubled from its initial 60,000, Schweitzer told a news conference coinciding with the production launch at the Moscow plant of Renault's Russian subsidiary Avtoframos.
The first Logans were scheduled to go on sale in Russia in late summer, bearing the Renault brand. They are being built at the plant of Renault's Russian affiliate, Avtoframos, outside Moscow.
The 8,000-12,000 dollar price segment "will be the core of the Russian market in the years to come," Schweitzer said.
The Avtoframos factory, backed by an investment of 230 million euros, has the capacity to turn out 60,000 vehicles a year.
"If there is a need, it would be possible -- provided we have the necessary authorizations -- to double the factory's production capacity," Schweitzer said.
Avtoframos is 76 percent owned by Renault and 24 percent by the Moscow city authorities.
Renault aims to sell more than one million Logans worldwide by 2010. By the end of March more than 45,000 had been registered.
The Logan was developed by Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia and its parent company Renault in a plant near Bucharest. It was initially intended for developing markets, and the opening of the Avtoframos plant marked the first stage in an international rollout.
In addition to Russia, Logan will be produced from 2005 in Morocco and Colombia, to be followed by Iran in 2006 and India in 2007.
The economy car will be marketed in more than 30 countries this year.
Just like with the flat tax, the nay-sayers are once again being proven wrong.
MOSCOW, April 6 (RIA Novosti) - In April Russia may sign a number of investment agreements with foreign car producers, Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref told journalists on Wednesday without naming the car companies.
In reply to the question if the Russian side would sign an agreement with Volkswagen in Hanover in mid-April Gref said relevant negotiations were being conducted.
Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov recently signed a statement on the significant reduction of customs duties on spare parts meant for the assembling of foreign cars on Russian territory.
This measure aims to attract foreign investments in the Russian car industry.
bump: spread the word
That's a good name for
an automobile. We all
know that the cars RUN!
I noticed no photographs...
"Renault"
Pronounced with a ver nasal accent = "Run-No"
Who could forget the Renault Caravelle ? In the event of a flat tire, the tool kit contained a steel pipe to be fitted in the door sill (to keep the body from folding up) before using the jack.
I'm sure the squirrel under the hood is a "trade secret".
...Looks like a Pinto, Scirroco & a Mustang had a gang-bang and this was the offspring...
Hmm... I don't see any reason to think this might be a total POS.
Its a sh*tbox.
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