Renault plans US$3000 car
If you think the Renault/Dacia Logan (shown above) was a budget car, wait til you see what Renault has in mind next. The guys at Renault are planning an even cheaper car that will cost around US$3,000. This ultra-budget car will be designed and developed in India, at a new “technocenter” soon to be established that will hire 1,000 engineers.
Apparently, development costs in India are very low. India has been in the Carlon Ghosn spotlight for awhile now. Earlier this year he said there is a fundamental difference in attitude to cost savings between western companies and Indian companies, and by this he means the Indian one is better.
This new budget car will be aimed at developing markets, and not intended for the European market. Let’s just hope it ends up looking better than the Logan.
June 15, 2007 @ 7:36 am
Is the car smaller than Logan?
A brilliant move by Renault, since cars nowadays are getting pricier and beyond affordability of people in the developing economy. Its going to be cheap in their country. But the same can’t be said if it is imported here. *sigh*
June 15, 2007 @ 7:48 am
Intended for the developing market where safety equipment like ABS, Airbag may be an option. And where’s there is no worries abt having higher Co2 emission than its euro counterparts, where cheap plastic are used etc…
Well, may be good for the manufacturer’s accounts, but it may not be to the user..but then, in developing countries, who cares a hoot abt all this..
June 15, 2007 @ 8:21 am
RM10K
is that even possible ?
June 15, 2007 @ 8:26 am
I wish our local player could come out similar products with Tag Price RM20k.
I could said this is brilliant move, will lower cost equal lower quality/ higher maintenance.
June 15, 2007 @ 9:02 am
I wish our local player could come out similar products with Tag Price RM20k.
I could said this is brilliant move, will lower cost equal lower quality/ higher maintenance.
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Well, possibly with Kancil w/o air-con, backseat, radio etc. Malaysia is Malaysia…one of world’s most expensive place to own a car.
June 15, 2007 @ 9:03 am
R u sure it is USD$3000 ?? = Rm12k ++ ?? our P1 20 year old model also wan rm27k … like milo tin … renault better … Erm the engine & chasis already $$$ …. hope i will export to malaysia … i think everyone will buy it … P2 also can’t fight the cheep price like this cars …
June 15, 2007 @ 9:18 am
It would be interesting to see a car company challenge its designers and engineers to come out with a car that is built within a tight budget. Tight budget doesn’t necessary mean cheap or lousy if they know how to prioritise what basic drivers need.
Like Top Gear had a segment on the Toyota Aygo which is also shared with Citreon and Peugeot. Cost cutting measures include using identical seats for driver/passenger (no Left or Right side versions), single strut instead of 2, simple door trim and easy assembly of components to cut running cost at the factory lines.
June 15, 2007 @ 9:43 am
nice!
yea, here we pay like a fortune for a car :S…………….
can’t even find a decent card around RM20K!
June 15, 2007 @ 10:01 am
I think we should all be honest with ourselves here, would anyone here buy a car like a logan? a car that is designed, and costed down specifically for 3rd world markets, is that what we really want to buy? Yes its cheap, but I for one will not buy it. The reality is, if one wants a car at that price, you pays for what you get.
June 15, 2007 @ 10:23 am
It’d better look better than the Logan. Cheap cars should look nice too.
June 15, 2007 @ 10:30 am
I’m sure a decently (at budget) built USD3,000 car would sell at least RM40k in Malaysia. We should realise we can impose all kind of tax and tariff and duties in order to make the imported cars at par with the local cars in term of price.
So live with it. LOL
June 15, 2007 @ 10:34 am
I have the same opinion as Banyak. We us so exposed to the modern and latest car tech., it would be extremely hard for us to take a couple of leap backwards. Sad but true. We are already a spoilt brat…hheheee. I mean we already know that there’s something else there that with a lil bit more of hardcash , we could attain it and never to worries abt the shortcomings that a usd3over grand car would have…
June 15, 2007 @ 11:13 am
How could it be CHEAPER than Our PROTON SAGA?
25years old model still cost us nearly RM30k, above USD7000.
Renault Low cost model is HALF price of SAGA? Come on Proton what should you do?
HOw how and Us How?
June 15, 2007 @ 11:34 am
Banyak, aren’t we driving 3rd world cars at ridiculous price tags? Compare our popular models on the road versus the Logan on its price and features. Yes, you pay for what you get, but we are paying at prices that SHOULD have gotten something but we don’t.
June 15, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
IMHO, the Renault/Dacia Logan looks decent.
June 15, 2007 @ 1:19 pm
at this end of the market, i dun think look is of utmost concern. The ultra cheap car will probably engineered to be manufactured as cheap as possible. Squarish and everything as big piece as possible.
Everyone will be looking at Renault here. India and China is the next big market an required really cheap car to sell in big big volume.
June 15, 2007 @ 2:24 pm
too decent i may say……
June 15, 2007 @ 2:25 pm
I agree with BrakeFader.
Dacia Logan is a cheap car because it IS CHEAP to begin with.
A Dacia Logan, cost about €7000 with basic features (Aircond, manual windows, manual transmission, radio cassette player, central locking with remote, 1.4 Renault engine taken from the old Clio) which is similarly priced but roomier than the cheapest P2 Viva, even cheaper than the Saga and has 3-star rating EuroNCAP crash test, which is much superior than the Waja.
I don’t see any other reason not to buy one with that kind of price. Comparing with other similar spec & priced car, it seems that this car is the most logical choice.
June 15, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
i agree wit aesthari…they shud produce a better dsg eventho produce a chep car…
June 15, 2007 @ 4:28 pm
Well, I guess most of you must represent the motorcycle riding community in Malaysia. Especially the ones who have to ride with his 3 kids in various gymnastic positions on the bike, and the wife tucked behind with the baby in her arms. I bet you, they are really interested about a car that has airbags, and VVTi, and DSG and stuff. It matters not that someone can produce a car that’s cheap to drive, and still have basic safety and sturdy/reliable
Oh btw. The biggest reason Proton saga is bloody expensive still mainly due to scale of manufacturing, and freaking parts and components being overcharged. The price difference of a part would be significant if you make a part 1000 or 100000 times. And it would be even more cheaper if you can use easy to make molds and as little amount of pieces as possible, for example, single piece rear seats, single piece plastic injection front console. Old cars like SAGA probably never went down with the cost because they spend money making new seats la, making new front consoles la, making new bumper la.
This is industrial engineering 101 la.
June 15, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
model looks early to mid 90s
June 15, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
It looks like a hybrid car
June 15, 2007 @ 6:16 pm
not nice…
June 15, 2007 @ 7:43 pm
I agree with demio121… at that kind of price, looks not that important…
June 15, 2007 @ 7:56 pm
wat?? 10k???
June 15, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
TWO THUMBS-UP + TWO TOES-UP for Renault!
Lets teach others HOW LOW CAN YOU GO!!!
i would guess its something from Nissan…
shared platform, shared chassis, shared engine, shared transmission…
a single developement deployed to multiple products just as other makes..
June 16, 2007 @ 12:11 am
with china and india around. u can see why proton is guaranteed dead meat and other car companies are scrambling to invent a new line of cars. ‘green cars’ is the answer to cheap and nasty petrol burners.
June 16, 2007 @ 1:54 am
floyd said,
June 15, 2007 @ 10:30 am
I’m sure a decently (at budget) built USD3,000 car would sell at least RM40k in Malaysia. We should realise we can impose all kind of tax and tariff and duties in order to make the imported cars at par with the local cars in term of price.
So live with it. LOL
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What you said is totally true, Chery QQ even lower than USD 3K, it is selling in China starting from RM 9K ++ but in this super expensive under crappy NAP tax, Alado sell it starting from RM 36K!
Let STOP THE BUYING, STOP THE SUCKING! NAP need P1 (under local control) for its legitimate existence and P1 need NAP for its dubious survival!
Both need each other in the name of “national car” and “pride”, but the reality is P1 + NAP = Suck rakyat dry!
NAP won’t last long as the world trade environment changes all the time, especially with the advancement of free trade that will demolish non-tariff and tariff barrier like NAP and AP!
June 16, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
azolkipl said,
June 15, 2007 @ 4:28 pm
“… The biggest reason Proton saga is bloody expensive still mainly due to scale of manufacturing, and freaking parts and components being overcharged. …. Old cars like SAGA probably never went down with the cost because they spend money making new seats la, making new front consoles la, making new bumper la…”
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Nope, i dont agree with you.
If so, then how come taiwan made proton components/parts sold at much cheaper price than “Genuine” proton parts. My first car was a 2nd hand proton saga magma 1.5s way back in 1994. When changing parts i never really went back to proton genuine part agents after my first attempt.
Does this means taiwan (or other) made was of bigger scale mfg than proton? This just doesnt make sense, others mfg scale being larger than proton’s when proton is the main player. I just think ‘genuine’ proton parts manufacturers prices are plain inflatted. And proton or the G didnt do anything on that.
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Oh and Joe Ooi, we should thanks proton and G for depriving us of owning better cars. Hehehehe.
June 16, 2007 @ 6:57 pm
Renault takes the old nissan sunny 130Y and rebadge it
LOL can be sold for 3K
June 18, 2007 @ 9:21 am
“Oh and Joe Ooi, we should thanks proton and G for depriving us of owning better cars. Hehehehe.”
what a shortsighted comment. i think malaysian car buyers today have such an enormous wealth of choice when it comes to cars, and at all budgets, from RM20k to the millions. Cars come in so many guises today. Even at the low end of the budget from RM20-50k, we have choices with technology from europe, japan, china, korea, and of course malaysia.
if you can afford above RM50k, there are even more choices all the way to the million budget mark.
June 19, 2007 @ 6:35 am
I have driven the Logan. It is slightly better than the “popular” A160. It feels more solid, but the design and overall feel reminds me of the old Renault 12.
It is truly a car for countries like Romania and such.
June 19, 2007 @ 6:42 am
Oh yes, the Logan that I drove was priced at USD9k, and not USD5k. Renault officals told me the USD5k is bare to the bones.
Let’s say they build the USD3k car and they want to sell here. Tax alone will be 150%, then they have to pay for AP, which is at the current rate is RM50k per AP. Let’s ditch the small costs like freight and all.
So, roughly, a USD3k or RM10,000 car will cost at least RM75k.
June 23, 2007 @ 8:57 pm
that’s just crazy math, chrisbangle. the honda jazz, sold as the honda fit in america, retails for about USD14.5k for about the same spec as the Malaysian model, VTEC to VTEC. Now, that’s USD11.5k more than the Renault Budget, which in ringgit, is RM40k or so.
So, if you say the Renault Budget is RM75k, shouldn’t the Jazz be RM115k minimum, instead of RM104k? Or even more, considering that we havent considered the 150% tax for the extra USD11.5k?
July 25, 2007 @ 10:02 am
wont this ruin the reputation for renault if they want quality in their hands?
$3000, about 2,600 Euros. A proton Wira 1999 in Germany right now cost EUR 988.. LOL. and its automatic with metallic body paint.
September 5, 2007 @ 7:00 pm
i think this car looks like the new proton BLM..(wondering)