[b]Renault scraps large cars[/b]
Renault is poised to scrap the next-generation Laguna and could virtually pull out of the large car market altogether, senior company sources have revealed.
Production of the current Renault Laguna is set to end in late 2010 and the Sandouville factory that builds it will switch to building commercial vehicles from 2011, the sources told Autocar today.
Sandouville also builds the unsuccessful Vel Satis executive hatchback and the ageing Espace MPV, so these two models will probably be killed off without being replaced.
Last autumn Renault announced that it had suspended development work on its future large cars, including the next generation Renault Espace.
The company indicated that it wanted to reassess the concepts in light of market moves towards smaller, more environmentally friendly vehicles.
Renault chief Carlos Ghosn said: "We will have to adapt to new market conditions, re-think individual mobility and adapt to the new trends. But we also think [in the medium to long term] that the oil price will remain high and there will be increased environmental concerns."
However, Renault has not prospered in the large car market in recent years and sales of the newly facelifted Laguna have been much slower than Renault predicted.
Renault sources told Autocar that the new Samsung SM5, which will be launched in December in its home market of Korea, is likely to be rebadged as a Renault and offered for sale in Europe, effectively replacing the Laguna and Vel Satis.
However Renault sources indicated that they do not expect significant demand for the new SM5 (which is based on a large Nissan front-drive platform) in Europe. Renault owns 80 per cent of Samsung, which also builds the Koleos SUV.
At a press conference in Paris, Ghosn suggested that the new car market might "permanently change" after the global recession ended.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArtic ... rs/238136/
sembrerebbe intenzionata ad amazzare la laguna dopo 3anni, non dare eredi all'Espace, che verrebbero sostituiti con un riumarchiamento della samsung SM5
Tutto questo perchè ritengono che il mercato si sia indirizzato irreversibilmente verso auto più piccole e eco compatibili
Il condizionale è d'obbligo, ma certo tra le Europee è quella che soffre decisamente di più e lo scarsissimo risultato commercaile di laguna non lascia ottimisti