Renault’s plans in Romania

The biggest carmaker in Romania, Renault has made public its new strategy for the production of Dacia MCV cars at its factory in Mioveni.

Valentin Țigău, 22.09.2016, 13:54

The Dacia carmaker confirmed on Wednesday that it would move some production of Dacia’s Logan MCV model made in Romania to its factory in Tangiers, Morocco. Renault, which holds 99.4% of the Dacia shares, took this decision in order to free up capacity to build more Duster cars, which are in higher demand in Europe, the Dacia management explained in a press release. The information first appeared in the French media, according to which the move requires additional investment of 20 million euros in the plant in Tangiers.

So far, Romania has been the sole manufacturer of the Logan MCV model. The official announcement has allayed fears among the staff in Mioveni regarding a possible downsizing. However, the decision of the French carmaker can also be interpreted as a possible diplomatic warning of the Romanian authorities that they should speed up the building of the Pitesti-Sibiu motorway. Last week, during talks with the Romanian producers of Dacia and Ford, the transport minister Sorin Buse said structural funds would be used to finalise the Craiova-Pitesti section by 2020 and that between Pitesti and Sibiu by 2021.

According to Romania’s strategic transport masterplan recently approved by the government, 11 new motorways may be built by 2036. The plan provides for the building of 6,800 km of road, including 1,500 of motorway and over 1,300 of express roads. There are also plans to modernise more than 5,000 km of railway, 15 airports and 32 ports in order to improve transport flow, something that would have a positive impact on car exports, too. The French media have also mentioned the possibility that a new Dacia or Renault model, most probably its Kwid model, a mini-SUV, to be produced.

As the strategies of the world’s biggest carmakers are always shrouded in mystery, what we do know for sure is that facelifted versions of Dacia Logan and Sandero will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show at the end of September. Also, Ford has announced that its new EcoSport model would be produced at its plant in Craiova, southern Romania, starting in 2017. The first Dacia car was made in Romania in 1966. The brand was taken over by Renault in 1999 and now accounts for 30% of its sales. Ford has been producing cars in Romania since 2009, selling up to 300,000 cars a year and becoming the third largest company in Romania in terms of exports.

(Translated by Cristina Mateescu)