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Renault cuts deep
Today reports have reached us that Renault will stop the production of the Vel Satis, the Espace and the Laguna, and will concentrate on the smaller segments. The Koleos, built in Korea will be continued......
It is based on a post Ghosn press conference discussion (not with Ghosn himself though), which revealed that the factory building these cars, will as of 2011 be used for the production of delivery vans.
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[url=http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/238137/]Autocar - Renault hits the skids[/url]
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almost 6.000 workers are going to loose their jobs, and the company lost about 1 Billion € in 2008.
not the best moment I would say.
I didn't remember of the Vel Satis until I read about it in the first post, I thought it was gone a long time ago. It's been a sort of Avantime, sedan version though, but same result.
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I thought the Velsatis was out of production also, weird.
Is it really the end of the Laguna and the Espace? hard to interiorize...
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[QUOTE=ruim20;868877]Is it really the end of the Laguna and the Espace? hard to interiorize...[/QUOTE]
Is it? I doubt it, at least the Laguna competes in a pretty big segment.
As for the Vel Satis, well they were probably only makng three a year so...
IIRC though, Renault sales were already on a decline before the crisis hit hard
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[QUOTE=Ferrer;868890]Is it? I doubt it, at least the Laguna competes in a pretty big segment.
As for the Vel Satis, well they were probably only makng three a year so...
IIRC though, Renault sales were already on a decline before the crisis hit hard[/QUOTE]
Renault had a 600 million Euro profit in 2008. Much down compared to last year, but compared to the loss figures presented by other companies, not soooo bad
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[QUOTE=henk4;868894]Renault had a 600 million Euro profit in 2008. Much down compared to last year, but compared to the loss figures presented by other companies, not soooo bad[/QUOTE]
I didn't know the profit figures, but I think that Fiat (as a group) surpassed them (or at least got very close) in sales figures.
Renault's main market is the European, and I don't think many European manufacturers have posted loses. And none of their direct rivals, AFAIK.
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There were rumours that at a particular dealership in the Netherlands, you would get a brand new Twingo 'for free' if you bought a new Espace (as a sales stunt). Later on this turned out to be an 'urban legend'. I drive a new Twingo BTW. No Murcielago killer, but a nice little car and an improvement with the old model in terms of looks IMO. BUT now I am sorry I wrote bad things about Alto's once, as that would fit in the same category of 'mini car's'. Ah what the heck... They are economic and stuff :)
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My two cars at Motor Shows that I never fail to make a shot of are the Vel Satis and the Kia Opirus, one never knows when you will see it again;) (actually during the press days of the last Geneva show, Renault did not bother to show the Vel Satis at all, but they always change the stands for the general public, so it might have still been on show.
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i hope nissan isn't affected......
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[QUOTE=coolieman1220;869001]i hope nissan isn't affected......[/QUOTE]
IIRC Nissan has reported about $2900 million loses recently.
So I guess they are slitghly affected...
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[QUOTE=Ferrer;869036]IIRC Nissan has reported about $2900 million loses recently.
So I guess they are slitghly affected...[/QUOTE]
it seems like the 200SX has been canceled.
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[QUOTE=henk4;869039]it seems like the 200SX has been canceled.[/QUOTE]
And the GT-R based Infiniti saloon has been put on hold. Maybe forever...
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Isn't the Laguna a fairly new model? it's amazing they're going to give it the chop so quickly.
Desperate times call for desperate measures I suppose, and you can't really argue with Ghosn's record for turning around car companies.
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Latest development is that Renault has denied the phasing out of the Laguna, while the current Espace will have to struggle on until 2013. Vel Satis is gone.
It would indeed be foolish to announce the demise of the Laguna, but of course a lot can still happen in the meantime.