Renault appoints Dacia Logan creator to head its Nano-rival program in India originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Dec 2012 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Report: Mahindra may look to freeze joint venture with Renault originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Carlos Ghosn goes to Russia, returns with a new AvtoVaz originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Want a cheap racing car? Using one of the cheapest cars on the market would be a good place to start. That's the idea behind the Dacia Logan Cup, a series of racing mods available for the budget automobile.

The Logan Cup clearly draws on the expertise from its parent company's in-house motorsports and tuning shop Renaultsport, applying the same formula used on hot versions of the Clio and Megane, but to a much smaller scale. The Dacia Cup is available in three different versions for track, road rally and off-road rally racing. The running gear remains stock to keep the ease and cost of acquisition and servicing down to a bare minimum. Depending on the version, the Logan Cup is then fitted with all manner of racing-spec equipment from roll cage to Bilstein shocks and from rear wing to racing harness.

The packages will be available from Renault and Dacia dealerships wherever Logans are sold - that counts out the American market, for one - and can be used in a variety of low-level racing series, and the manufacturer is organizing regional one-make racing series around the world. The idea is so simple, it just might work.

Check out logan-cup.com for more info and gallery below for more small pics of the small racing car.

Gallery: Dacia Logan Cup

Racecar for the Masses: Dacia Logan Cup originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reporting on one luxury car hitting the market after another and a seemingly endless race for the latest in technological breakthroughs, it seems hard to believe, but the fiercest competition in the automotive industry is emerging in the ultra-low cost segment. As markets like India and China continue to develop, their billions of citizens are moving up from bicycles and scooters to low-cost cars, and the sticker prices keep getting lower and lower.

Four years ago, India-based Tata Motors vowed to make a car which will sell for $2500. It seemed like a joke at the time, but that car is almost ready to hit the market, and the competitors are getting ready to put up a fight. With its bare-bones Logan sedan, Renault has the leg up on other automakers including Toyota, Volkswagen, Fiat, PSA and GM Daewoo, which are all preparing to get in on the low-cost market.

Carmakers are keeping costs down by developing the cars in India, and though the profit margins are dramatically lower than in premium segments, the companies are clamoring to establish their footholds in the emerging markets and hope that the volume will make it all worthwhile.

While the ultra-affordable subcompacts are being designed with developing countries in mind, automakers are surprised to find their no-frills offerings are being received well even in Europe, where customers see the savings as a worthwhile alternative to spending thousands more on higher-priced cars. Standard safety features and emissions control mean that a car that would cost $3000 in India costs $6-7000 in a Western country, but even at those prices the cheap imports undercut anything else on the market by thousands. It's being hailed as an impending revolution in the automotive industry every bit as pivotal as was the Ford Model T.

[Source: Business Week]

Cheaper by the Dozen: the race for the $3000 car originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Apr 2007 07:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pushing aside mounting political pressures, Renault has announced that it will go ahead with plans to build its Logan sedan in Iran as part of a joint venture.

Signed yesterday, the deal had been in doubt for some time-and not because of the nation's controversial nuclear initiative. As Autoblog reported last month, the future of the French connection was questionable after government officials balked over vehicle export percentages, shutting down production of the bare-bones vehicle.

Renault's original plans called for 250,000 Logans to be produced in Iran beginning in 2008, but that target may be under review.

[Sources: The Peninsula; Renault]

Iran-built Renault Logan gets green light again after political wrangling originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 May 2006 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.