The two companies have signed a non-binding agreement to study the possibility of such a venture, Autonews reported. The cars are to be built at the factory owned by Great Wall's Venezuelan partners, with a roll out rate of some 22,000 units, intended for the local market (15,000 for Renault and the rest for Great Wall).
The Logan will not be built per se in Venezuela, but only assembled with parts coming as kits from Colombia. Renault will only assemble Logan sedans, natural gas-powered Logan and Sandero compact hatchbacks.
If the study shows the venture can be done, Renault is expected to bring some $10 million and the know how, while Great Wall will bring $55 million and, of course, the plant. A Renault spokesman said a final decision on the matter will be taken in the following months.
Renault's Logan is being built, under different names and body styles in eight countries worldwide: Romania, Russia, Morocco, Iran, India, Brazil, South Africa and Colombia. Expanding to Venezuela will allow Renault to boost its market share in the region, as well as to improve its local profile.
Originally developed for the Romanian market under the Dacia brand, the Logan has quickly caught on as being as reliable as an under 10,000 euro car can be. Benefiting from the crisis and scrappage incentives (which brought the vehicle's price down to under 8,000 euro), Logan's Romanian hit spread to markets not used to low cost vehicles, with Germany on top of that list.
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