Renault new Symbol, effectively a sedan version of the Clio, will be sold in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay in 2009. It is being launched today (23 December) in Argentina, less than four months after its unveiling at the Moscow motor show.
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Production for South America is at the Santa Isabel (Cordoba) plant in Argentina.
Forty million euros were invested to make the new model in Argentina, mainly at the plant (stamping and bodywork) and at suppliers’. A total of EUR64m is being invested in the plant between 2007 and 2010 – most of it for the Symbol, though some is to transfer Clio II production from Brazil to Argentina.
The Symbol’s petrol engines will be produced at the Curitiba plant in Brazil and the gearboxes at the Cormecanica plant at Los Andes, Chile.
This launch is the latest in an unprecedented product offensive in South America. The Symbol is the sixth vehicle Renault has introduced there since 2006 following its Mégane sedan and wagon, Logan, Sandero and Sandero Stepway.
Thanks to this rejuvenated range of cars adapted to the needs of local customers, Renault’s sales rose in the region in 2008. At the end of November, its sales were up 6.5% (more than 240,000 cars, including 100,000 in Brazil and nearly 75,000 in Argentina) in a market that grew by 4.4%.
The Symbol was launched in Turkey, Russia, Eastern Europe and the Maghreb in the second half of 2008.
