SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Renault of Brazil has announced it will invest the equivalent of $570 million in the country over the next three years. A major part of the investment will go toward bringing Renault into the as-yet-unexplored SUV segment here. Renault of Brazil CEO Jean-Michel Jalinier would neither confirm nor deny that the vehicle will be the Dacia Duster, which was unveiled earlier this week as a new model coming for 2011.
Jalinier, who came to Brazil in March after running Renault's Russian subsidiary, was speaking at a year-end luncheon with automotive and business media representatives here.
The Dacia Logan and Sandero are already being built in Brazil, the Logan since 2007 and the Sandero since 2008, and both are sold badged as Renaults.
The French automaker has just completed 10 years of operation in Brazil and ranks 6th in the local market with sales of more than 200,000 units per year. Its manufacturing plant is located in São José dos Pinhais, in the Greater Curitiba region of the state of Paraná.
The Duster is the production version of an SUV concept first shown at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show. It's the latest member of the expanding Logan family. The company said it would first be built in Romania for sale in Europe, Turkey and North Africa before expanding elsewhere. Renault has indicated that expansion to Renault's Brazil plant is in the cards for 2011 and to Russia for 2012.
Inside Line says: Duster production in Brazil looks pretty likely. — Bob Sharp, Correspondent
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mdtopdad says:
09:37 AM, 12/13/2009
I believe you meant to say that the Duster would be the latest member of the Dacia family, not Logan