Roll Over, Nano: Renault Working On 2.500 Car

Renault already upset the European car market with its low cost Logan, which goes for around €7,700 (approx $10,000) in France. If the French newspaper La Tribune has its sources straight, then Renault could be coming out with a car that is priced like a high-end bicycle.

Renault allegedly is working on a car that will cost €2,500 ($3,350). France’s wire service Agence France Presse says it is not true, but la Tribune sticks to its guns and says that it maintains that its “proprietary information” is correct. According to TTAC’s proprietary information, AFP is wrong, and La Tribune is on the right track.

Renault’s low cost maven Gerard Detourbet (father of the Logan) has been put on the project, not just for Renault, but for the Renault / Nissan Alliance. As a timeframe we hear something less than 5 years. The €2,500 may not be cast in stone, but the order of magnitude (or is that minitude?) is correct.

Renault’s CEO Carlos Ghosn is betting big on emerging markets. Low cost is key in markets where the previous vehicle was a moped. If the economy goes down the toilet, low cost will be the key to everywhere.

At the Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault’s Gerard Detourbet told La Tribune that he and his team are “working hard” on a car below the Dacia Logan and Sandero. But, says the paper, at €2,500, the car cannot rest on the Logan platform, it needs something cheaper. That’s what Detourbet is working on. What is most interesting is that due to Renault/Nissan’s cost structure, it can make decent money on a car that goes for petty cash.

THAT is the real miracle of the industry.

Tata’s Nano has not set the world on fire, but not for a lack of interest. First, Tata could not produce the car. Then the Nano did set itself on fire. Wouldn’t it be interesting if Renault/Nissan would give Tata trouble in its home market India with a low cost car?