“In the next two years, we will build two new buildings at RTR’s technology center in Titu (west of Bucharest), which will house a vehicle prototype design center and engine test stands, used especially for the Euro 6 compliant engines,” said Sorin Buse, VP Renault engineering head of Renault Technologie Roumanie.
“RTR will also conduct a research and development program for innovative technical solutions for its future vehicles.”
Dacia Mechanical and Chassis Plant is currently manufacturing the K7x engines (1.4 and 1.6 liters) and the H4 Energy TCe 90 (0.9 liters and 90 HP) in Mioveni, near Pitesti. The plant assembled 308,100 engines last year.
“Production on the Euro 6 engine will start some time towards the end of 2014,” Dacia officials said.
Officially, all new cars launched in the EU have to comply with the Euro 6 pollution standards and as of January 1, 2015, all new cars registered in the EU have to be Euro 6 compliant. Trucks were required to meet the new standards as of January 1, 2014.
Last spring, RTR completed the investment of about EUR450 million in the testing center in Titu, where the company has 32 kilometers of test tracks, test stands, offices and labs.
Sorin Buse also said that there was some extra space available and expansion plans, which only depend on the company’s strategy, which in turn depends on the latest international developments and the situation of the company. The latest project of the center was adapting the 0.9 liter TCe engine made in Romania for the smart city cars of Daimler group.
Dacia makes the 0.9 liter H4 TCe engine in Romania for the cars assembled in Mioveni and for the Twingo and Clio models of Renault.
The participation of Renault Romania to the Auto Muntenia competitive cluster along with the other members (authorities, suppliers, small and medium-sized enterprises, universities, research institutes) means the company plans to support a strategy to develop the country’s automotive industry by boosting its competitiveness.
“These investments are part of the group’s strategy to contribute to the competitiveness of the operations Renault has in Romania. We will invest at Dacia to increase capacity of the plants to better address the new demands of the auto market,” said Nicolas Maure, general manager of Automobile Dacia and Renault Romania.
Renault will invest at RTR to develop innovative competitive vehicles and the programs conducted in the cluster include one where member companies receive management training, Maure added.
The new RTR investment should create 108 new jobs for the business cluster member companies, Dacia officials said.
Nicolas Maure and Sorin Buse signed the financing contracts for the Auto Muntenia competitive cluster. Also attending the signing were Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Interim Economy Minister Constantin Nita, European Fund Minister Eugen Teodorovici, Minister-Delegate for Research Mihnea Costoiu, the head of the Regional Development Agency South – Muntenia, Liviu Musat, of the chairman of ACAROM (the association of automotive manufacturers in Romania) Constantin Stroe, as well as local authorities.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)