Renault links with GM
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by Toby Clark • Renault and GM have finally signed the agreement under which an allnew panel van will be built in Luton and sold under the Vauxhall, Opel and Renault names.
Vauxhall will start by selling the Renault Trafic from early this year, rebadged as the Vauxhall Arena—in Germany it will be sold as the Opel Arena.
Later, perhaps as early as next year, Renault will introduce a van in the 2.83.5-tonne range to replace the current Master. This is the result of Project Excel, which was a joint venture with Leyland Daf Vans before the Daf collapse in 1993. The van will be made in France, and after the Renault launch will be sold (with little or no mechanical change) under the Vauxhall and Opel brands.
The final stage will be the launch of a lighter panel van (2.5-2.8 tonnes GVW) developed in France by Opel and Renault: this will be produced for both companies at the IBC plant in Luton, currently building Frontera 4x4 vehicles. The engine choice has not been decided, but the van may have different power units in Renault and Vauxhall/Opel
versions.
The deal will mean up to 900 new jobs at IBC, as the joint venture is intended to produce up to 60,000 vans each year— around 8% of the European market. Nick Reilly, Vauxhall's chairman and managing director, says the new models "give us a total commercial product range for the first time since the Bedford CF". He revealed that Vauxhall will appoint specialist van dealers, as the expanded range should have a knock-on effect on the smaller commercials.
The proportion of Renault and GM-badged models built at Luton will depend on demand: "We have a good market fit with Renault—we expect our joint European market share to increase".