RENAULT As part of its turnaround strategy initiated in 2021, the French automaker has resolutely focused on the most profitable segments in Europe - electric powertrains and compact size. But this strategy, combined with the loss of Russia, the group's second-largest market, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has greatly increased its dependence on the European market.
In the first nine months of 2023, nearly 69% of sales were in Europe, compared with around 63% a year earlier.
"While our product renewal is bearing fruit in Europe, we will now make the brand more global and profitable," said Fabrice Cambolive, Renault brand general manager, quoted in a statement.
The first of these new vehicles is a small SUV derived from the Dacia Sandero, called Kardian, revealed on Tuesday in Brazil, now the Renault brand's second-largest market behind France. The car will be launched next year in Latin America and Morocco.
Among the other models to follow, five will be compact and larger "to position the brand in the most value-creating segments", Renault added in its press release.
This offensive will be based on two new platforms. A modular architecture with a global vocation, assembled in Latin America, Turkey, Morocco and India, and on which Kardian is based, but also a hybrid 4X4 pick-up, whose Niagara concept was also presented in Brazil.
This latest model uses a novel technology, combining a lightweight 48-volt hybridization system at the front with an additional electric motor on the rear axle.
The second international platform, intended for the top end of the market in South Korea, is the result of a partnership signed in 2022 between Renault and Geely, also a partner of the French manufacturer in internal combustion engines, separated from the electric activities of the future Ampère entity.
The first Renault Korea Motors-branded vehicle based on this architecture, named CMA, will be manufactured at the Busan plant in Korea and presented in 2024. (Gilles Guillaume reports, edited by Kate Entringer)
