As Carlos Ghosn he was now agree to meetings with the head of State

The Renault Clio, which takes its name from the muse of history in Greek mythology, has avoided little tragedy. At the end of a meeting in the Elysee Palace, Saturday, with President Nicolas Sarkozy, the Renault boss, Carlos Ghosn, acceded to the presidential request, indicating to the output of the meeting that he would assemble a part of the Clio for future generation at the plant in Flins (Yvelines), from 2013, while the other party would be entrusted to the Turkish website of Bursaoperated in cooperation with its local partner Oyak. "I confirmed to the President of the Republic that we will produce the Clio IV in Flins, within a general framework of"dual sourcing"double supply, Editor's note with Bursa", said Carlos Ghosn; the site of Flins, which employs smics employees, "is perennial and employment will be maintained in the term".

In what proportion will be scheduled between the two sites manufacturing This is the question, and the release of the Elysee Palace said not. It is still too early to set quotas between the two plants, highlight two concurrent sources, for a car to be launched in three years, knowing that in any event these proportions may vary during the life of the program. It in was so the current Clio III, including the majority of manufacturing gradually tilted towards the Turkey, reinforced by the recent break version exclusive. Another element of the equation is not yet known: how will be received by the public the Dani, the car 100 voters to be launched at Flins from the end of 2011. Next to this innovative program, the Clio, through its two versions III and IV (the present and the future), might serve as an adjustment variable.

Different scenarios

Whatever it is, politically, the Elysee Palace has served its purpose: demonstrate that it has obtained Renault abandon to relocate all of the Clio outside Europe. The Group wanted really There, the versions differ: according to a Union source, the decision to transfer the Clio IV in Bursa is already taken for several months. The direction of the constructor refutes this version, holding still being phase review and collection of data, working on different scenarios. "Upstream of industrialization of this type, we must launch of calls for tender from our suppliers, whether they are ready to follow us in any particular schema", explains in Renault.

While the State has not flinch when Carlos Ghosn has launched work on a new plant "low cost" to the Morocco, nor that he had reacted when PSA entrusted to Slovakia cation of its 207 Peugeot and Citroen C3 Picasso fabri, he did not hesitate to climb this time to the niche, in a few weeks of regional elections, on the theme of "too much".", it is too much." The Clio, launched in 1990 instead of the Supercinq to respond to the challenge by the Peugeot 205, is certainly one of the heavyweights of the range of the diamond. The model is also now a political emblem. But policies do know that, with an exception about (from 2006 to 2007), the Clio has always been predominantly assembled abroad since its launch (Spain, Slovenia and Turkey)

This sudden turn politico-industrielle weapon was an opportunity for the State to say that he wanted to keep control of the strategy of Renault, while he was unblocked recently EUR 3 billion in emergency loans to the auto group, over EUR 1 billion to its subsidiary of RCI bank credit, and EUR 250 million extra to convert Flins car email metric. The Secretary General of the Elysee, Claude Guéant, suggested yesterday that a representative of the State can enter the stra Renault strategic Committee. As Carlos Ghosn, he was now agree to meetings with the head of State. Funny thumbing its nose at the history of the ex-Régie, privatized in the 1990s.