A company spokeswoman said that Renault will sign a pact today to build its first plant in Algeria during a highly symbolic visit by Mr François Hollande President to the former French colony.
She said that “Renault will sign the agreement tomorrow.”
According to France’s Le Figaro newspaper, the factory will be located in the second city of Oran and will be geared to the burgeoning local market. Car sales in the North African country are expected to touch 450,000 units this year against 300,000 in 2011. Renault already holds a 25% market share.
According to the daily, the Algerian state will hold a 51% stake in the venture and Renault will hold the rest. It will produce the Renault Symbol, a saloon based on its Clio compact sold mainly in markets where hatchbacks are not traditionally favored.
According to Le Figaro, the plant will have an initial capacity of 25,000 vehicles annually from 2014 and will rise to a maximum yearly output of 75,000. Algeria is an important supplier of oil to France, hundreds of French businesses operate there and France is its top trade partner.
Hollande goes there on a two day visit today, accompanied by a dozen government ministers and senior executives from top French firms. The aim of the trip is to try and end simmering resentment over French colonial rule and buttress trade ties with the world’s fourth largest gas exporter.
