“We will do everything to ensure our suppliers and the plant in Romania remain competitive,” Carlos Ghosn said in reply to one of the questions ZF asked him at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Shortly after unveiling the new Renault Megane, Carlos Ghosn sat down to talk with more than 50 journalists from all over the world, in line with Renault’s custom of organizing top management meetings with a small number of journalists working for major publications or news agencies such as Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Automotive News at the most important auto shows.
Ghosn message about the competitiveness of the Romanian plant comes at a time when the focus is on the major emerging markets such as Mexico where the alliance has a new plant for its premium brand Infiniti, South America and India, markets that have a significant contribution to the growth of the worldwide auto market.
The plant in Romania is a really big plant for Renault and has a significant market presence, Ghosn said.
Renault started an automation process at the Mioveni plant in southern Romania this year and plans to boost robotization from 5% last year to 20% in three years.
On the other hand, Renault started making a new automated manual transmission in Seville, Spain, instead of Mioveni, even though this particular transmission will be used in the Logan and Sandero models only, in Brazil and in Europe.
“Components do not have to be all made in only one place.”
A manufacturing investment has an economic decision behind it, so Renault will not be making everything in Romania for Dacia, as it does not manufacture everything in France or Spain, said Carlos Ghosn, explaining the group’s decision to make the new Logan and Sandero transmission in Spain.
Renault’s production has only increased by 72,000 units in the past five years, while production of cars using the Logan platform has increased by 600,000 units, which Dacia contributing 40% of the sales of the group.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)