Aiming to stay in the game in the Europe’s ever-shrinking large family car segment, Renault will replace the long-running Laguna and Latitude sedans with one model, and possibly a new name.
According to Autonews Europe, Renault will show the car July 6 for a September on-sale date. The new model will be tasked with replacing the South Korean-built Latitude that Renault was using as a sort of Audi contender, and the more traditional Laguna sedan and wagon – all of which were derived from Renault-Nissan D platform that underpins models like the Nissan Altima.
The Laguna Coupe apparently won’t be replaced, however, a shame since it was by far the best looking out of all of these cars named here and could once be had with the 3.5-liter V6 out of the Altima.
Renault sold a pathetic 508 Latitudes in Europe last year, and sales of the Laguna fell to about 15,000, also pretty tiny. But that’s in a market that’s virtually halved in recent years. Even Honda decided not to sell another Accord in Europe. It’s a little surprising Renault hasn’t just called it in and started marketing a version of the Altima in Europe.
But given Renault’s latest small car and crossover designs, it’ll be interesting to see (for those who can buy one, anyway) what they come up with this summer.
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