It would appear that Renault is looking to position itself as the French version of the Volkswagen Group. Alongside news that the Gallic manufacturer is set to revive the Alpine sports brand reports in a French newspaper point towards a move upmarket.
The Les Echos newspaper, citing Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares, states that plans are afoot to launch a new high-end sub-brand using a Mercedes-Benz platform. The move comes as Renault is considering diversifying its range with Renault being the general brand, Dacia the low-cost option, Alpine the sports range and the new marque, believed to be called 'Initial Paris', the high-end.
Tavares is quoted as saying that the basis of the new project will be the Mercedes-Benz E-Class platform and that “it is about using their platform and designing a Renault upper body to extend to it what I might call the French touch.”
Renault and Daimler (Mercedes-Benz parent company) already have a partnership in place that will see Renault build the next generation Smart car at its Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia on the Twingo platform.