Renault to re-enter China with mini-bus

France’s Renault will re-enter the Chinese market by resuming production of microbuses in 2010. The French carmaker will invest 1.5 billion yuan (US$214.5 million) in the mini-bus project, code-named W72, initially aiming to build 40,000 vehicles a year at an existing factory in Xiaogan, Hubei Province. Renault is one of the few global automakers currently without a presence in China, the world’s second-biggest auto market. Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of both Renault and Japanese partner Nissan Motor Co, said that Renault was still assessing the right timing to re-enter the increasingly competitive passenger car market. Nissan has a local 50-50 joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp., and Ghosn said Renault would eventually join that partnership. Renault had a joint venture producing the Trafic commercial mini-bus in 1994 with Sanjiang Space Industry Group, but dwindling sales led to a production halt in 2002. (May 15, 2008)