Renault boss Carlos Ghosn on Kadjar, Alpine and more new models

Renault-Nissan Alliance chief reveals plans for a new-model onslaught from the French firm
Steve Cropley Autocar
12 February 2015

Renault says it will launch five new cars in 2015. Announcing the move at the unveiling of the French firm’s new Kadjar SUV, Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn said Renault will bring a new A-segment car, a D-segment saloon and a new pick-up truck to market this year to join the already revealed Kadjar and Espace.

Renault’s plans to introduce a new, back-to-basics model in the same vein as the Citroën C4 Cactus were revealed in December with the Value Up concept car. Although at the time Renault said the model would not make it to production, it’s known that elements from the concept - 
including its new platform - could be used to inform the next generation of Renault’s A-segment city cars.

Any new model in the D-segment for Renault is likely to herald the return of the Laguna name. Previously, Renault officials have told Autocar that the next Laguna will come with “fluid and emotional” styling, echoing themes seen on the firm’s Captur, Clio, Twingo and Zoe.

The reinvented Espace was revealed at the Paris motor show in September last year, with the MPV morphing into more of a crossover shape. Although the car will be available in both five-seat and seven-seat guises, neither option will come to the UK in the short term.

Ghosn believes the Kadjar crossover, Renault’s version of the Nissan Qashqai, will give the Renault-Nissan Alliance “a scale advantage no one can match” once it reaches full production in Spain and China.

Speaking exclusively to Autocar after unveiling the Kadjar in Paris last week, Ghosn described the car as “an extremely strong product” and “a huge opportunity for Renault”. However, he was evasive about predicting the size of its success.

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“That’s hard to say. We’ve tested it with customers and distributors and the response has been extremely strong. It reminds us of the response we had to its sister, the Captur crossover, before that model went on sale. And as you know, Captur now leads its class in France and across Europe.

“What I can say is that Kadjar will be great at competing with our rivals. It shares a common platform with Qashqai, and this means we can compete with the world’s biggest car companies. Our competitiveness in terms of investment and parts cost should be close to the best.”

How important is the Kadjar’s styling to its success?

“It’s vital. This game will be played on the attractiveness of the product. We believe Kadjar has the same styling appeal as Captur, but we have no customers yet, so we can’t be certain. With Captur, we had very good feedback, but it was nothing compared with what we have achieved in sales.”

Do you believe the crossover market will last?

“It will remain strong. These models offer great versatility, and all our research tells us people really enjoy that. Whether the trend will last 10 or 15 years I can’t say, but for the foreseeable future — which means the next four or five years — we think demand will be strong, not just in Europe but around the world. Cars like these make up one sale in four across the world, and one in three in China.”

How are recent currency shifts affecting your companies?

“The volatility began two years ago, and the effect then was negative on both our revenues and our income. Even though the euro has recently moved ‘the right way’ against the pound and dollar, we’re still in adverse territory because of really large declines in Russia and Argentina.”

How bad are things in Russia?

“Everyone is hurting. The market was down 11 per cent last year and is forecast to drop another 20 per cent this year. That’s a third of it, gone in two years. People usually scream when there’s a four or five per cent decline, so you can see just how bad it is. But we will adapt. The potential of Russia is still there. We must maintain a readiness for the take-off that is coming. It is just a matter of time.”

Nissan and Renault are 
great supporters of electric cars. What’s your current view of the market?   

“I’m predicting steady growth from present levels. At first, we were impatient for bigger sales than we see today, but I still believe the market will pick up, little by little. Sales will accelerate from time to time 
as emissions laws, which are only going in one direction, tighten further.

“Technically, electric cars are a big success. They are accepted worldwide and they’re the only serious option as zero-emissions vehicles. Other alternatives lack maturity and cost-effectiveness. So I believe the EV is going in the right direction.”

Do you need to have more electric models?

“We don’t believe it’s a question of adding more cars, although the models we make have a natural lifecycle, so you’ll see them being renewed. Our advantage is that we were first in the sector. We have the best understanding of the market and lots of knowledge about how people actually 
use electric cars.”

Don’t you need more Renault and Nissan hybrids and 
plug-ins to support your EVs?

“One type isn’t a rival for another. An electric car maker needs a variety of technologies to meet the emissions challenge, but some push particular technologies more than others. You will see some hybrids in our line-up. But we’re going to continue to promote the EV market because we think it makes up one of the biggest untapped market areas in the world today.”

Your partner in the sports car Alpine project has departed, and demand for sports cars is low in the modern market. How are prospects?

“Sports cars are certainly niche, but they still have an enthusiastic following. Alpine is a great name, so we see it as an important asset. We’re still working on the cars, but we’ll be ready to talk fairly soon.”

Do you think Alpine can be profitable?

“This [long pause] is what we are studying…”

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Comments
8

jonboy4969

2 February 2015
Renault needs to get more models out globally, the Espace I feel would sell here, as long as it was priced right, a new back to basics car, would be great, model it on the Renault 4 or 5 (yes I know the Twingo was supposed to ape the 5, but it doesn't really)...... A new Laguna, forget bringing that here, with the new Mondeo, and Passat, any competition in that segment would get eaten alive, Renault does brilliant small cars and MPV/Crossovers, do those and cash in.

EndlessWaves

2 February 2015
jonboy4969 wrote:

A new Laguna, forget bringing that here, with the new Mondeo, and Passat, any competition in that segment would get eaten alive, Renault does brilliant small cars and MPV/Crossovers, do those and cash in.

They said saloon rather than hatchback. I'm guessing the article's just talking about the facelift on the Latitude (not sold in the UK) rather than a new model.

It would be nice to get a new large Renault in the UK. Cars like the Avantine, Laguna Coupe, Espace and Vel Satis have been some of the most interesting in recent years.

I'm sure Renault could pinch the platform from one of the several large Nissans (e.g. Infiniti Q50) if they wanted a big car rather than starting from scratch.

The pickup is potentially interesting if they make it an Assuie style Ute rather than a big American thing, I suspect it'll either be Navarra-based or for emerging markets though.

Dolphinman

2 February 2015
I have liked Renault's flair, design AND comfort but they MUST get reliability as a 'given' rather than the patchy reputation the have had over the last few years. I've had a Five, Espace and two Scenics all of which were from poor to woeful in the reliability stakes.

supermanuel

2 February 2015
I had 2 brand new Espace 4's in the last 11 years and loved them both (although I had no confidence in their reliability long term). It's a shame that they still refuse to bring the new one to UK as it looks quite intriguing and unique- something the Espace has always had on its side. I quite like the look of the kadgar (?) too. It looks better than the Captur, better proportions. It's very qashqai like, but that's to be expected I suppose. @Superstevie- regarding your signature text... It seems that the Autocar staff have no regard for the comments section of this website or for its users. Too many years of bickering, criticism and crazies? You've been here as long as me so I know you've witnessed some real 'incidents' in the past. They're not fixing it because they don't care anymore. It may simply be that any advertising revenue generated comes from the first page of an article only, so why bother to fix a broken comments feature when all we've ever been is a pain the 4rse anyway?

superstevie

2 February 2015
I missed that the Kadjar has been fully revealed. Looks not too bad actually.

catnip

2 February 2015
superstevie wrote:

I missed that the Kadjar has been fully revealed. Looks not too bad actually.

I think it looks good. And from what I read the Qashqai is pretty accomplished in most areas, so Renault would have to do something pretty drastic for it not to follow suit.

Bullfinch

12 February 2015
(a real one) and to see what a pretend Renault 4 would look like if Renault did what Fiat, VW and BMW have done with the 500, Beetle and Mini although I doubt very much that I'd buy one.

sirwiggum

13 February 2015
The mk1 Laguna was actually a solid car (as most 90s cars were, even big French cars).

The mk2 was good looking, though it started to get complicated tech that could be tempremental.

The mk3 was released and just looked anodyne in a segment that was getting ever more competitive and smaller. The coupe was gorgeous - from the rear it had an air of Aston Martin about it. They did resolve things somewhat with a facelift with a big grille, but it was too little too late for the model.

Interestingly in the Republic of Ireland, the diesel engined Fluence saloon is still on sale and is a reasonable seller, sold on the premise of being a D segment sized car at C segment price, with low tax (something shared with the diesel Meganes).

I wouldn't hold my breath for another UK Laguna, it has gone the way of the Primera. We'll be offered all forms of CrossoverSUV as per sister company Nissan, with premium badged Infiniti touted as the traditional 'big car' option.

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