Renault to Build New Models in Spain

French car manufacturer Renault will bring three new models at the Spanish production facility in Valladolid, in a move supposed to extend the life of the plant. Heavily affected by the economic recession, the factory underwent several cuts this year, including production cuts of the Modus small minivan.

"I can now confirm that we will produce an electric car in 2011, as well as a new ecological model in 2012 and a traditional car in 2013," Jean-Pierre Laurent, Renault's director in Spain, told a news conference, according to a Reuters report.

Renault several times asked for support from the Spanish government, emphasizing that state funds are absolutely mandatory to avoid job cuts and important decisions that could affect the Spanish workers.

"We are talking about a future-oriented competitiveness plan to help us through the crisis and to ensure that we don't close the factory," Jean-Pierre Laurent, head of Renault's Spanish operations, was quoted as saying by Autonews. "We have to ensure that Valladolid is competitive with other Renault factories," Laurent said. "To get there, we are going to need assistance from the national government, as well as from the regional government of Castile and Leon."

"We won't be able to maintain employment at Valladolid without these new projects, and we won't be able to do the projects without a new competitiveness plan from the government," Laurent said.

The plant, which currently builds the Modus and the Clio, will build the new models starting in 2011 but it's still unclear which of the three vehicles showcased by the company at the Frankfurt Auto Show will enter production.