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Next generation Laguna heralds fleet renaissance
Date: 10 October 2006
Renault has "conservative fleet ambitions" for its next-generation Laguna, due on sale next September, but the car will underpin the brand's "renaissance" in the upper medium business sector.
That is the verdict of Renault UK's outgoing managing director Philippe Talou-Derible, who said: "The car and its coupe version, due in 2008, will have the looks and dynamics, but also quality will be a given. Because of firmer RVs we can at last manage our destiny."
He said a "glut of premium German products" meant the current Laguna was being rediscovered by fleets for its rarity value and recovering RVs. Renault aims to have the Laguna as a top three upper-medium car in quality terms.
Talou-Derible claimed that Audi, BMW and to a lesser extent Mercedes, "had no limits to their fleet appetites but will get themselves into trouble on RVs and everyone will suffer as a result. We have very conservative initial ambitions and will not get into the same trouble as before. This is a gradual renaissance."
Renault's first true 4x4, the Koleos, will play a pivotal user-chooser role, according to Talou-Derible. He said the five-seater crossover marked the beginning of a change in the range's centre of gravity towards larger cars.
On the business car front, Talou-Derible said the Koleos, available from 2008, would offer user-choosers who are not brand-obsessed an alternative to "flash brands bought by fashion victims".
. The new Twingo range, available for the first time in the UK, will feature a circa 150PS RenaultSport version and the previously revealed 120PS GT variant. Both models will come after next autumn's launch.
