The company produces 331,000 vehicles annually at its plant in the province of Bursa, where the Symbol, Clio, Megane and Fluence models are assembled. Tunalıoğlu noted that the Bursa plant has become the second largest facility in Renault's network after the Dacia plant in Romania and said Turkey is a great market for LCVs and that the company is looking to produce them to reach its target share of the automobile market.
Tunalıoğlu stated that Oyak Renault, which places third in exports behind Tüpraş and Ford Otosan with export revenue of $3.2 billion, plans to invest for the long term in the production of the new vehicle. He further commented that “the company needs to move into new areas to be able to increase its current 16.4 percent market share to 20 percent” and added, “When we look at the market from this perspective, the production of a new LCV will provide great support to the market; not showing interest in LCVs is not a rational path to follow.”
Underlining that patience is needed for this kind of major production to take place, Tunalıoğlu said the company will keep the production of its vehicles at a similar level to the previous year and that an expected loss of a 10 percent share of the domestic automotive market will be made up by also exporting LCVs.
Tunalıoğlu also mentioned that preparations are ongoing for the production of the Clio 4 in Turkey, which was strongly opposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. “The company reserved $98 million to invest in the Clio 4,” Tunalıoğlu said. Noting that more than half of the 360,000-vehicle capacity of the plant will be used for the production of the Clio 4, he said production will start in June after being approved and will be displayed at a Paris trade fair in September.
According to Tunalıoğlu, the plant in Bursa produced 83,000 Symbol, 137,000 Clio 3 and 3,110 Fluence and Megane models last year. He underlined that Oyak Renault has a share of 27 percent in the automotive industry and that the company exported 225,285 vehicles in 2011.
Mentioning the response of the Koç Group and Fiat to the government's initiative to produce a domestic vehicle brand, Tunalıoğlu said, “Sixty-seven percent of Renault's Symbol has domestic parts, so we could say that it qualifies as being a domestic vehicle.”
