RENAULT Group Reacts to Rumours of Leaving Romania

Renault Group reacts to the wave of information on the situation of some assets on the Dacia platform in Arges, county of Romania. It transmits what will happen to the factory, the Dacia brand, and the platform employees.

Inside information has been exposed recently, one of them being CEO Luca de Meo’s statement at the General Meeting of Shareholders, in which he communicated the intention to separate the combustion engine division, including the Dacia Mechanical Plant, as well as the possibility of associating with external partners in this entity.

According to Reuters, two inside Renault sources said Renault was open to selling up to 60% of its thermal engine production but that the first preference proposals had already appeared. The intention to separate the activities is aimed at several production units of the group’s heat engines, including the Mioveni Mechanical Plant in Arges, Romania, and engineering centres in several countries, including Romania. Renault stated that it would become a “world leader in the mechanical sector in the service of the automotive industry,” referring to thermal and hybrid engines and transmissions.

The information in recent days regarding Renault’s plan to separate the electric propulsion and thermal propulsion activities has created a very high public pressure on the activities of Dacia and Renault in Romania.

A local press representative asked Renault Group, which also owns Dacia, for an official position on the subject.

Renault Group is studying the creation of two new entities, in order to strengthen the efficiency and operational performance of the skills and activities in the field of electric vehicles and, respectively, those with thermal and hybrid propulsion. The scenario for the creation of these two new entities is part of the Renaulution plan, which is self-financed by the Renault Group. No reduction in staffing or separation from certain activities or entities is considered.

Renault Group

According to Renault, there will be no reduction in staffing or separation from specific activities or entities. Acceptance of some partner shareholders is being considered for the new entity that will regroup the production activities of thermal and hybrid powertrains, including those of Mioveni. Their acceptance is contingent on having a logic of both product development and industry.

Renault Group will keep the Dacia brand and its activities in Romania, with only a portion of the mechanical perimeter discussed in the study.

The main consequence of this scenario would be the loss of thousands of jobs in Romania. The Renault-Dacia business is one of the most successful investments in Romania, and the internationally known Renault group has done a tremendous job bringing the Dacia brand back on the car manufacturing world map. This business has created thousands of jobs in Romania, which significantly improved people’s lives.

Some of the recent successes that Dacia has achieved were the launching of Dacia Spring, the first electric car produced in Romania, and reaching ten million Dacia units produced in Romania.