Following the inauguration of the Tanger plant in Morocco in 2012, Renault is expanding its manufacturing presence in North Africa with a new plant in Oran, Algeria.
The Oued Tlelat car manufacturing plant has been inaugurated by Algeria’s prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn. The plant will have an initial production capacity of 25,000 vehicles a year and will first produce the Renault Symbol, which is essentially a rebadged Dacia Logan.
The plant currently has one production line with a capacity of 25,000 units, but a second phase with an increase to 75,000 vehicles per year is under consideration. If approved, the expansion will include closer integration of suppliers, as well as body and paint shops.
Renault Algérie Production (RAP) has hired approximately 350 staff in recent months, with the new employees having been trained at the automotive training center (CFPA) in Oran and by Renault experts. Some of them have also undertaken training at Renault-Nissan Alliance plants, including in Romania, the home of Renault’s budget brand Dacia where the Logan is produced.
Renault says the Symbol produced in Algeria will feature a higher standard of equipment, plus a GPS navigation system. The French carmaker is the number one car manufacturer in Algeria, with a market share of more than 25 percent at the end of September 2014.
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