São Paulo – Renault Sandero, an automobile developed for Brazilian consumers with the participation of technicians from Brazil, is being manufactured in Morocco and will be sold in the country starting this month. The automaker in charge of manufacturing the automobile in the country is Société Marocaine de Construction Automobile (Somaca), of the Renault Group, in Casablanca. The French company is presided over by the Brazilian Carlos Ghosn.
The first units will start being sold in the Arab country on the 18th. Somaca already manufactures the Logan and Logan MCV models in Morocco since 2005 and 2008, respectively. In Brazil, the Sandero and Logan models are made at the Ayrton Senna Complex, in the city of São José dos Pinhais, state of Paraná. Besides Brazil and Morocco, the Sandero is also produced in other countries, such as Colombia, Romania and South Africa.
In the Arab country, same as in Brazil, the Sandero will have a three-year or 10,000 kilometre warranty. The Renault Group is betting on the success of the compact automobile in Morocco, taking into consideration that since 2006, the Logan is the most sold model in the country, with 14,500 units sold in 2008.
According to information supplied by Renault, the Sandero is derived from the same platform as the Logan’s and has the same features, such as record-breaking size for its segment and ample inner space for five people and baggage.
Similar to the Logan, the Sandero is being made in the Arab country from completely knocked down (CKD) kits, with parts coming in from Romania and from other areas of Morocco.
Renault invested a total of 16 million euros in the manufacturing of the Sandero by Somaca. The automobile made by the Moroccan company will be targeted at the domestic market only. The Renault Group owns 80% of Somaca, and Peugeot owns the remaining 20%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
