The weakening of the pound against the euro has made life tougher for European automakers in the UK, according to Renault UK managing director Roland Bouchara. And while the credit crunch and the high price of oil will make for tough conditions for the rest of the year, he hopes to see stability returning in 2009.
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“It’s been a tough year, and the second half will be tougher than the first half,” he said. “The pound has become weaker since last November and this has impacted most of the manufacturers.” Bouchara believes the market will fall 15-20% this year, and the final tally will be 2.5m cars and LCVs.
Bouchara said the C (Megane) and D (Laguna) segments were decreasing slightly, while small car sales (Twingo, Clio) had risen. From Renault’s perspective, Bouchara hopes a flood of new models this year will allow the French brand to retain a strong position. “We have started this year with a product offensive – Laguna, Laguna coupe, Kangoo, Koleos, Twingo Sport and later, the new Megane. We are coming into a new era in terms of product and design,” he said.
This year, however, Bouchara anticipates a fall in Renault’s market share – not because of poor sales, but because a focus on profitability is concentrating on retail, rather than fleet, sales. “Renault has the objective to be profitable and we have been focused on retail – we increased pure retail sales in June,” Bouchara said. “We have decreased our volume – and that was a conscious decision.
The new Megane will go on sale in November – five-door hatchbacks will be first, followed by a three-door ‘coupe’ – which will look very similar to the concept car on show in London – a couple of months later. Other versions will follow in 2009, along with a redesigned Scenic MPV (minivan) next summer.
Meanwhile Bouchara is pleased with the reaction to Renault’s new Koleos SUV. “The press has been surprised by the technical competence of this car – designed by Renault but engineered by Nissan from the X-Trail. We’ve had very positive feedback from dealers and customers.”
And he believes the “stunning” Laguna coupe will be a big hit thanks to a combination of “unique technical ability at this price – it’s a niche car but it is going to surprise everybody in the UK – especially in terms of price.”
