1
NEWS
Sedan important for Renault
Renault's design chief says new mid-sized sedan important for the marque, but don't expect big sales Down UnderA new mid-sized Renault sedan will deliver more to the marque than just sales, says the brand's design chief Laurens van den Acker.
The all-new D-segment vehicle is due to debut next year and will be underpinned by the same CFM1 platform that the all-new Espace (pictured) debuted. That platform co-developed with Nissan will also be used on a range of SUVs across both brands.
Says van den Acker, the new four-door will act as a halo for the brand's cars in the volume light and small car segments.
"It's an important segment to be in for the image of your company," van den Acker told motoring.com.au.
"In my opinion, it's like, if you don't have a D-segment [mid-sized] sedan you're not a real car company somehow. It's a very important segment for Asia. It's also an important segment for the USA," the ex-Mazda design head stated.
But it's the halo effect of the car that's paramount, he says.
"If you're a generalist brand and you don't have a D-segment sedan you become a C-segment company. And if you become a C-segment company, very quickly you could become a B-segment company. It's like you chopped the head off your line-up.
"It pulls up the esteem of the brand," he stated.
Van den Acker would not comment further on the details of the car other than to say he was "extremely pleased" with the finished product.
"We managed to make a car that you can park next to a BMW or Mercedes and get away with it, and it has a Renault badge," he enthused.
Local Renault boss, Justin Hocevar, backed up van den Acker's assessment but cautioned that he did not expect the car to make serious in-roads into the sales dominance of cars like Toyota Camry and Mazda 6 Down Under.
"With emphasis on fleet business and other factors, it's too expensive to play there.
"The other thing is I don't think any French brand has had a particular strong history in D-segment sedan in Australia. So let's win credibility in other places first," he stated.
Share this article
Written byMike Sinclair
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todaySell your car with Instant Offer™
Like trade-in but price is regularly higher
1. Get a free Instant Offer™ online in minutes2. An official local dealer will inspect your car3. Finalise the details and get paid the next business day
Get a free Instant Offer
Looking for a family car?Get the latest advice and reviews on family car that's right for you.
Explore the Family Hub
Related articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Love every move.
Buy it. Sell it.Love it.
®Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.