Photo: Renault
Of all the modern carmakers, the first one to have a luxury sub-brand was VW, when, in 1965, they bought Auto Union from Mercedes, and by 1968, the first Audi-badged car was launched, the 100. The model for a luxurious sub-brand was then gradually picked up by the Japanese, then the Americans, and most recently Citroen.
Well, following in the footsteps of Citroen, Renault is also reportedly contemplating the creation of not one, but two sub-brands, each with its specific purpose and lineup of products. As you may expect, one of the brands will be Alpine, and they will only make sports / sporty cars - it will be like Renault’s NISMO, if you will.
The other brand will be called Initiale Paris and it will be considerably more luxury-focused than anything in the current Renault lineup. The luxury brand is key to Renault’s plans to go beyond Europe with its products, targeting, of course, China as their primary goal.
The final decision on whether these new brands see the light of day rests with the other ‘big’ Carlos of the Renault-Nissan Group, Carlos Tavares. He has been quoted as saying that “... Renault may have one day a luxury brand [...] That would help from a profitability standpoint because everybody’s always looking at VW and what Audi represents for the VW group."
Story via bloomberg.com
The other brand will be called Initiale Paris and it will be considerably more luxury-focused than anything in the current Renault lineup. The luxury brand is key to Renault’s plans to go beyond Europe with its products, targeting, of course, China as their primary goal.
The final decision on whether these new brands see the light of day rests with the other ‘big’ Carlos of the Renault-Nissan Group, Carlos Tavares. He has been quoted as saying that “... Renault may have one day a luxury brand [...] That would help from a profitability standpoint because everybody’s always looking at VW and what Audi represents for the VW group."
Story via bloomberg.com
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