• FRANCE RVI LOSSES Renault Vehicules lndustriels' financial performance improved
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last year — but it is still expected to return a loss of just under £110 million for 1986, its president, Philippe Gras, has estimated.
This means that Renault lost around £3,000 on each of the 34,455 trucks it sold worldwide last year.
Even so, 1986 saw a strong improvement for RVI which in 1985 lost over 50% more (£168 million) on almost the same total revenue. Turnover amounted to £1,500 million in 1986 — 0.7% down on the 1985 figure.
In France, where RVI conducts two-thirds of its total sales, its share in the overfive-tonne truck market rose slightly from 39.4% in 1985 to 39.7% in 1986. Total French registrations of HGVs rose to 39,500 during 1986, up 12.5% over 1985.
Although worldwide exports saw a 12.3% plunge in revenue to £498 million in 1986, largely because of lower sales to the third world, European sales increased by 8.3% to 4,478 trucks.
In Britain RVI recorded a 1t15% increase in sales despite a virtually static market. Spain was also a success — where a 13.5% increase in truck sales was recorded for 1986.
"We are happy that the plans and the efforts we have made are showing improvements. But we can't say that we are pleased because we are still talking about losses," says RVI in Paris, "we hope to break even in 1988."
Meanwhile redundancies continue. RVI finished 1986 with 19,000 employees against 21,624 in June 1986, and it is expected that a phase of retirements at 55, to reduce the work force by another 787, will soon be announced.