Honorary Consulate of Romania (Boston, Massachusetts)
Auto Industry News – Reault / Dacia Auto Romania
| AUTO INDUSTRY NEWS
First ‘Made in Romania’ Renault vehicle by 2012
First ‘Made in Romania’ Renault vehicle by 2012 We still have to wait until 2011-2012 in order to see a vehicle entirely built in Romania by Renault Group, Jean Louis Ricaud, the general deputy director, has stated while attending the start of the construction works on the Technical Center in Titu.
‘We will be able to entirely produce a vehicle within Renault Group’s manufacturing facilities in Romania starting in 2011 or 2012. At the same time, the first vehicle to be entirely made in Romania will be tested within the Technical Center in Titu,’ Ricaud added.
The official pointed out that the new center also offers the possibility of testing electric cars, in case the Group will focus on this kind of activity in the following period. ‘In the future it will be possible to build an electric Dacia Logan, and if the Group will take this path Titu will surely offer the possibility to test that vehicle,’ Ricaud pointed out. The Center in Titu could test almost half of the new models launched by the Group. In fact the new center is unique within Renault Group because it will be able to test both engines and fully assembled vehicles.
Renault, investments of EUR 1.4 bln
In 10 years of activity on the Romanian auto market, Renault Group has invested EUR 1.4 bln, with investments in the manufacturing and testing centers and in personnel training set to continue in the following period, Christian Esteve, Renault Group’s leader for the Euromed Region, has stated in turn. ‘The investments run by Renault in the last 10 years have currently reached EUR 1.4 bln, up from the initial investment of USD 250 M. The investments were funneled towards the manufacturing center in Mioveni, towards the Design center in Bucharest and the Technical Center that we inaugurate today in Titu. I assure the Romanian authorities that we will continue to invest in development and in training the personnel in Romania and I thank them for their excellent collaboration,’ Esteve pointed out.
The center in Titu will include testing facilities for fully assembled vehicles but also for car parts and will allow for the simulation of extreme road conditions: exposure to cold, sun and rain. Nine types of test tracks with a total length of 30 kilometers will be included in the center in order to analyze the vehicle’s behavior. The Renault Group representatives have estimated that the Technical Center’s activity will start at the end of 2009, when the number of engineers working for Renault Group in Romania is set to top 3,000.
President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu have taken part in the inauguration ceremony of the construction works in Titu.
President Traian Basescu has called on the large foreign companies to invest in Romanian intelligence and to follow the Renault and Oracle examples. He underlined that Renault’s investment in Romania was one of the great success stories of the transition period. ‘Romania benefits from a complete chain, thanks to Renault’s investments: manufacturing, research, distribution. If we look at the current car industry we see that nobody raises the issue of competition between neighboring countries. Renault, including Dacia, are taking part in a global competition, one in which research is the only chance to survive on the market, to continue to be competitive,’ Basescu pointed out.
In turn, Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu pointed out that this project has perspectives that will model the Romania of the future. The Head of the Government underlined that the Romanian economy finds itself in a fierce competition with the economies of European countries and research and innovation are the main elements, elements that nevertheless could not develop without an industrial base. According to the Prime Minister, Renault has decisively contributed to Romania’s reemergence on the map of European car manufacturers.
Dacia Sandero prices range from EUR 6,890 to 9,850
The new ‘Sandero Model’ in two capacity versions was launched in Romania on Tuesday evening.
The fifth vehicle created by Renault and Dacia on the Logan platform was launched in Romania. Sandero is available in five equipment versions and two petrol motor versions, one with a 1.4-litre motor of 75 HP and the other with a 1-6-litre motor of 90 HP. At the time being, Dacia Sandero’s diesel motor versions are available yet and will be introduced next year, due to production limits at the Pitesti Factory and of the diesel oil motors supplier, Mediafax informs.
“The diesel versions of Sandero will be launched next year. The main reasons for this decision are related to the production capacity of the factory of Mioveni and of the diesel motors supplier,” Francois Fourmont, General Manager for Dacia declared at the launch of the Sandero model in Romania. The basic version, named “Sandero,” is priced EUR 6,890 and includes standard equipment, driver airbag, anti-lock braking system (ABS) and emergency braking system (EBS), three height-adjustable safety belts for back seats and reclining back seats. This equipment version is only available with the 1.4-litre motor. The other versions, Ambiance, Preference, Laureate, are available in both capacity versions, and the top version, Prestige, is only available with the 1.6-litre motor. The basic “Sandero” version costs EUR 6,890, Ambiance costs EUR 7,350 for the 1.4-litre motor of 75 HP and respectively EUR 7,750 for the 1.6-litre motor of 90 HP, Preference costs EUR 8,050 or EUR 8,450, depending on the motor, Laureate costs EUR 8,950 and respectively 9,350 and Prestige costs EUR 9,850, VAT added. “Prestige is an absolute novelty of the Dacia brand due to interior design and beige upholstery. The most important additional equipments to the Laureate version are alumina wheel rims, beige upholstery, leather-covered wheel and speed adjuster, electric back windows and a radio, CD and MP3 player. Buyers may also choose metallic paint and side airbags in front,” a press release issued by Dacia shows. A sum of EUR 147 million was invested in this model, and approximately half of the engineers that worked on it are Romanians. This year, Dacia Sandero will also be launched in Western Europe, Turkey and Maghreb. Dacia Sandero was presented for the first time at the International Motor Show of Geneva, in the first half of March. Dacia Sandero is a version of the Renault Sandero prototype, launched by the French group in Brazil and Argentina.
by Alexandra Span
Dacia Auto: Most Significant Growth Rate in Europe
Dacia was in 2007 the brand with the biggest rate of growth of the sales in Europe, with an advance of 85.9 per cent against 2006, as a result of the significant demand for the model Logan, according to a survey made by the British car market research company Jato Dynamics, informs ‘Business Standard.’ The survey was made in 27 European countries, which do not include Bulgaria and Romania. The number of registrations of Dacia cars increased in Western Europe by 96 per cent, to 68,815 units, from 35,101 units a year before. The market share held by Dacia in the region progressed to 0.5 per cent, from 0.2 per cent in 2006. The best sold brand at European level was Volkswagen, with 1.6 million units, followed by Opel/Vauxhall with 1.32 million units, and Ford with 1.28 million traded cars. On the following positions were Renault with 1.17 million cars traded, but 9.3 per cent less than in 2006, and Peugeot with 1.09 million units, 1.4 per cent less. Fiat, Citroen, Toyota, Mercedes and BMW rank in order in the top ten brands with the biggest success in the European market. Of the aforementioned, Fiat had the quickest advance of the sales, with 7.7 per cent, further to the launching of some new models, such as Bravo, 500, Sedici, Linea and Scudo.
|
|||