Renault Applauds Government Loan, Promises Full-Electric Car

Following the recent announcement that the French government will provide a 3 billion euro loan to the domestic struggling automakers, Renault officials came out and applauded the decision, explaining that such a move was almost a must considering the current market conditions and the global credit crunch. Obviously, the French manufacturer did nothing more than to emphasize the company's efforts to develop less-polluting models capable of delivering a lower fuel consumption and gave us a glimpse into the short-term plans.

Renault says it will launch five new models plus a brand new engine sharing exactly the aforementioned attributed by the end of 2012. These goodies will be accompanied by a full-electric car but only if the market conditions require it. However, several electric concepts are likely to be unveiled at the next car shows.

The automakers says it will do its best to bring new resources for developing clean vehicles and technologies in France, a plan that would obviously create new jobs and improve the local auto market.

Just like demanded by French President Nicholas Sarkozy, the money will be exclusively used inside France, with Renault planning to strengthen its domestic operations and maintain jobs and skills. Several production sites, engineering and test centers will maintain their current workforce in the future, Renault said in statement for the press. More importantly, the French automaker does not plan to issue restructuring programs for its domestic production plants in 2009, it added.

“We are very pleased with the loan granted to us by the French government. In light of the exceptional crisis impacting our entire industry, access to credit was indispensable for supporting our activity and that of the automotive industry. It will also enable us to pursue our developments and investments in sustainable mobility,” Carlos Ghosn, President of Renault, said.