Karrier Dodge +Renault
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KARRIER MOTORS is the name of the new joint company which will handle the development and sale of Dodge and Renault heavy goods vehicles in the United Kingdom. ALAN MILLAR and GRAHAM MONTGOMERIE report.
As expected (CM April 11) Renault Vehicles lndustriels has bought a half share in Dodge Talbot's) joint company, with ostensibly equal shares of film to £15m so that Dodge's dated range can be kept in French hands but with stronger backing.
While the Karrier Motors Ltd company, formed on January 1 and until now played down by Talbot, is the new organisation's British trading name, the products will still be sold under their existing names.
Dodge's 76 United Kingdom dealerships and Renault's 30 main dealerships will be able to sell each others' products, under an arrangement which, Dodge says, will improve sales and service throughout the country.
Similar arrangements will apply in other markets, especially in Spain — Dodge, there as a protected home producer, has a 26 per cent market share and hopes to benefit from the injection of new technology in readiness for Spain's EEC entry.
The deal applies only to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, and not to the Dodge Spacevan or former Simca 1100cc car derived van which will still be sold by Talbot's car division in line with Peugeot and Renault policy for light vans. While neither partner has specified any jobs losses at Dodge's Luton and Dunstable factories, that threat is implied in last week's announcement that "the prime objective is the reduction of production costs".
Rationalisation is likely to mean more use of in-house components, with Renault gearboxes and engines possibly replacing Turner gearboxes and Perkins engines in Dodge products. tt also gives the two manufacturers the chance to buy in components in greater bulk, with consequent savings.
The effect on Perkins' already badly hit Peterborough works could ultimately be disastrous, and while the company last week was confident that its products were best suited to the Dodge range, Perkins managing director Jim Felker's comment to CM was significant: "It is a great risk and a great opportunity.
The implications for future model development are considerable. While there are many areas of overlap between the two companies' ranges, there also are gaps, with Renault offering nothing between 16 and 32.5 tonnes. There also are no sixor eight-wheel Renaults, and the Mack MRE6B5RS six-wheel tipper being imported to Britain by Renault from next month is likely to be too expensive to consider as a volume plug for that gap.
Dodge's turnover last year was FFr2,000m (E182m), while RVI's was FFr11,00 Om (£1,000m). Dodge built 12,000 goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, while RVI's total was 51,000. Renault is strongest in France, where its 44 per cent market share overshadows Dodge's token one per cent, while Spain — almost certainly Renault's biggest prize in the deal — is Dodge's best market — Renault has sold nothing to Spain.
In Great Britain, Dodge's ten per cent market share — bolstered by municipal demand for the well respected Commando range — contrasted with Renault's one per cent.
The deal also finally scotches the possibility of a joint deal between OAF and Dodge. OAF last week announced that a study, begun in 1979, would not yield "any tangible benefits in the foreseeable future".
While the Dutch company maintained a diplomatic silence, it is clear that, while the ailing Dodge company might have benefited, the superimposition of Talbot's mixed car and commercial business would have caused DAF untold trouble.