Renault renews its vows in NZ

Renault's on-again, off-again career in New Zealand is on again - and this time things just might work.

Renault is a major car manufacturer on a world scale, and last year it sold 2.6 million vehicles. But in New Zealand, the 2010 sales total was just 14.
That sales effort comprised nine Laguna sedans, two Clio hatchbacks, and one each of the Megane, Scenic and Koleos models.
Frankly it was a pitiful result that represented half the Renault sales in New Zealand in 2009, which in themselves were half the sales of the year before.
But now - suddenly - Renault importer Motorcorp Distributors Ltd is aiming to vastly increase sales to at least 175 over the remainder of this year, and to ramp up sales even further next year to around 300.
So what's happened?
It's basically the result of Renault and Motorcorp going through the motoring version of marriage guidance and re-affirming their vows.
Now, instead of Renault being not much interested in little New Zealand and Motorcorp having had such a gutsful of it all that it stopped importing the cars from the middle of last year, Renault is offering all sorts of corporate and financial support and Motorcorp is responding by working hard to make the relationship work.
All was sweetness and light at a media briefing in Auckland last week which, obviously in an effort to underline the fact the business relationship has been strengthened, was attended by Renault Asia-Pacific's Aussie-based area operations manager Sylvain Martin-Villa and long-serving Motorcorp director John Fairhall of Christchurch.
"We're putting a big effort into being successful in New Zealand," Monsieur Martin-Villa told attending journalists.
And Mr Fairhall: "We don't see this as another short takeoff and landing, but as something that can be sustained."
Mr Fairhall was enthusiastic about it all, suggesting that if everything goes right Renault could progress towards mirroring the success of Volkswagen in New Zealand, which has transformed from being very much a niche brand to a distributor with wide appeal and affordability.
"We don't want to come back as a European niche brand, but as an attainable European alternative. We think that this time we've figured out what we need to do. It's a fantastic opportunity."
Renault re-launches in New Zealand armed with a quartet of model lines that will target four different market segments - and a feature of the fleet is pricing that places them in direct competition against mainstream Japanese and Korean equivalents.

The Megane five-door hatch ranges in price from $31,990 for a 2.0-litre manual through to $39,990 for a fully-specified Luxury version with a continuously variable automatic transmission, and a two-door Megane CC (coupe-cabriolet) costs $54,990 - a price which puts it below the likes of the VW Eos and Peugeot 308CC.
Megane hatch is built in Turkey and the CC in France, and the two other models will come from South Korea - a Fluence 2.0-litre medium-sized sedan with CVT which will retail for $34,990, and the Koleos SUV, which re-launches here with prices ranging from $37,990 for a two-wheel drive 2.5-litre petrol model with CVT, to $49,990 for a 2.0-litre turbo diesel 4x4 with a six-speed automatic.
All of these models feature a mix of Renault and Nissan componentry thanks to the alliance that exists between the two manufacturers (Renault owns 44.3 per cent of Nissan, and Nissan owns 15 per cent of Renault), and the Korean-built models are via Renault's ownership of what is now known as Renault-Samsung Motors.
As the new sales and marketing effort builds, further Renault models are likely to be introduced here, said Steve Kenchington, who is in charge of the Renault operation in New Zealand.
These are likely to include the medium-sized Latitude sedan which replaces the Laguna and is already on sale in Australia, a brand-new Clio hatch which is due for international release next year, and even commercial vehicles.
All the vehicles already on sale in New Zealand are notable for their very high level of standard equipment, said Mr Kenchington.
"This is one of the key pillars of the new renault in New Zealand, resetting the expectations of what European cars can offer in the light and small car segments by equipping them with standard safety and convenience features previously only available optionally, or in large and more expensive vehicles.
"Never before has so much been offered for so little by a European manufacturer."
One thing that that is missing right now, however, is dealerships. There are only four of them in New Zealand - two in Auckland and one each in Wellington and Christchurch - and there are also service agencies in Tauranga, Hastings and Nelson.
Mr Kenchington confirmed that initial talks have already begun to widen this network.