2007 Renault LoganBy Chris Haak
Industry newspaper Automotive News reported today that the Renault Logan, a car developed specifically for developing markets and sold at an extremely low retail price, will be sold in Mexico badged as a Nissan Logan. Since Nissan already has a dealer base in Mexico while Renault does not, it makes the most sense for them to badge the car as a Nissan.
The car will be built at Renault’s factory in Curitiba, Brazil – which will be producing Logans for local sale in Brazil beginning in May as well.
The Logan has been a huge hit in other markets – it’s designed as a simple, affordable vehicle but with state-of-the-art safety features, and starts at around €6,000 ($8,076). In some places, the Logan is badged as a Renault, and in others, it’s badged as a Dacia, depending on whether Renault has a presence in a particular market. Dacia is the Romanian car manufacturer Renault purchased a short time after Romania collectively decided that communism was no longer a growth ideology.
Perhaps this car will be the worthy successor to the original VW Beetle in Mexico, but I’m sure Renault would be happy with half the sales and half the longevity of the iconic Beetle.
I would buy one of these cars tomorrow if it was available in America. Why in the world would Nissan not sell this car here?
I agree, why wouldn’t Nissan see this in the United States? It seems to me that there are millions of people that would like a basic car that’s cheap to operate and to repair, BUT is still very safe if you get in an accident.
When we we get this car?
As I wrote this article, I definitely saw the Logan as a kindred soul to the original VW Beetle. It’s a similar concept (but a much safer car): simple, easy to maintain, inexpensive to purchase, roomy for its size. I agree with you both – there were plenty of buyers lined up to buy original VW Beetles in the US years ago, so why not try the Logan as well? They’ve proven extremely popular in Western Europe for people who want simple, reliable transportation.
Yeah, this could really upset the apple cart in the car market here in America. It seems like a no-brainer to bring it here but maybe it can’t pass emissions or something.
smoothie, I doubt that emissions are the problem – it’s sold in Western Europe, which has standards that are similarly strict to ours. I think it’s most likely a perception/marketing issue instead. Renault doesn’t have a dealer body in the US, and Nissan probably doesn’t want to undercut their current lineup here (or sell a model that is contrary to their current styling theme and sportiness/performance vibe.