Renault committed to Australia, despite French exodus

Renault is doubling down on its commitment to the Australian market, following the news that Peugeot is being dumped by its local distributor.

Under increasing pressure from a wave of new Chinese brands, independent importer Inchcape announced earlier this month it was dropping Peugeot from its portfolio – almost two years after doing the same to Citroen.

During a media conference with Glen Sealey, the general manager of Renault Australia – which falls under the Ateco Automotive umbrella – CarExpert asked about the health of the French automaker in this market.

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“First and foremost, there’s significant investment going into Australian product,” Mr Sealey responded.

“There’s investment into new products coming in – new Duster, new Scenic, new Symbios, rejuvenating the existing range of Arkana drivetrain, that same drivetrain going from Master into Trafic, and more models coming through.

“So, the investment from the OEM is coming in, and the interest is coming into the Australian market,” he said.

“[Renault in France] do see Australia as a very important right-hand drive market."

Renault Asia-Pacific Oceania General Manager Arnaud Mourgue touched on the significance of Australia for the company.

“It’s an important market – it’s probably the third largest, if I’m not mistaken, right-hand-drive market for Renault. So, we are happy to push our assets in Australia,” Mr Mourgue explained.

“And from our perspective, we see that model revitalisation coming through,” Mr Sealey said.

“We see that there’s space in the market for the brand, with European heritage, European handling, design, ADAS calibration that works, good driver/human interface, and some emotion in the driving.

“We see that there’s still a market in there, there’s still a space for that in the Australian market.

“So, we think we’re actually going to go pretty well with all that under our belt,” Mr Sealey said.

In August 2024, Inchcape announced it was shutting down the Citroen brand in Australia, after operating in this market continuously for more than a century.

At the time, it’s understood Inchcape said it was focusing its attention on the more successful Peugeot brand – but in recent weeks, the distributor also dropped Peugeot.

However, the parent company of both French brands, auto giant Stellantis, has confirmed Peugeot will remain on sale here, saying the brand has "a strong future in Australia, supported by a robust product pipeline and a clear long-term strategy".

Commenting on the forthcoming Renault Megane E-Tech Esprit Alpine, Mr Sealey referred to Australia as a "dynamic marketplace" and a "disrupted marketplace", saying there is a need to keep pricing attainable for automakers to remain competitive here.

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