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Renault Concepts Renault Cars Related Topics
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Renault : Vel Satis- ambitious plans for a stable market The S segment: where the saloon is king
With unit sales in Western Europe of 1,888,561 in 2000, the S segment is a fiercely competitive market for top-of-the-range vehicles, made up primarily of specialist manufacturers. It represents 12.8 % of the Western European car market and has remained stable for several years now. The S segment is dominated by saloons (49.4 % in 2000), despite an appreciable increase in the share of monospaces (up to 16.3 %), from which Renault has been able to benefit considerably since the beginning of the 1990s. Estates, cabriolets and coupés represent 18.5 %, 6.5 % and 6.9 % of the segment respectively. One of the features of the market for top-of-the-range vehicles is its geographical concentration around four countries, Germany, the UK, Italy and France, which account for 80 % of all sales. Germany alone represents 48 %, which explains the dominance of the German manufacturers on the segment. Topping the list of best-selling brands are the specialist German manufacturers, BMW, Mercedes and Audi, followed by Volvo (Sweden). Renault lies in fifth place on the segment and is the best placed volume manufacturer. This position is due largely to the great numbers of monospaces sold on this segment (Safrane accounts for one quarter of sales and Espace three quarters). TRENDS ON THE S SEGMENT IN WESTERN EUROPE
The share of diesel engines on the S segment has risen by about 20 % in ten years, reaching 40 % at the end of 2000. This trend is destined to continue as the gap between the prices of diesel and petrol models has been closing and the performance of diesel engines improving since the introduction of high pressure direct injection by common rail. Vel Satis finds its target with the emergence of new, nonconformist customers In spite of the dominance of traditional saloons in the top-of-the-range segment, the recent breakthroughs made by Saab and Volvo prove that there is scope for a different product offer. Alongside the traditional three-box saloon customers, new nonconformist customer bases are developing on the major European markets which are mature and comprise a number of different types of car. These customers have the capacity or desire to move away from usual definitions of luxury and to seek styles more in line with their chosen personality. Into this style they incorporate not only contemporary forms of expression, but also elements of a more classic culture. They are cosmopolitan, forward-looking and dynamic with a successful career and interest in other cultures. The "modern selective" category, as described, constitutes the principal target of Vel Satis. Its presence is particularly strong in Germany and in France. For these customers, the classic saloon is too much of a stereotype. The "modern selective" customer is looking for a different car where shape reflects function: a vehicle with comfort, spaciousness and brightness, which still delivers the top-of-the-range fundamentals in the areas of engines, comfort, safety and quality. Vel Satis manages this synthesis by bringing together high-performance engines and transmission systems that guarantee driving pleasure, and which offer exceptional spaciousness that ensures the quality of life on board. Vel Satis revolutionizes the top-of-the-range saloon with its unprecedented proportions, its lavish provision of interior space and its design that expresses the values of the new brand identity.
The market position
of Vel Satis: ambitious plans The role of Vel Satis is firstly to help spread the brand's image throughout Europe, even in those countries where anticipated volumes are relatively low. This progress will be of benefit to the whole range. Secondly, Vel Satis aims to take a share of nearly 3 % of the European S segment from 2002, its first full year on sale. Following the structure of the segment itself, Germany, France and the United Kingdom will account for around 70 % of the models sold in Europe. Renault's target for the period 2002-2008 is now set at almost 300,000 vehicles.
Total programme outlay
reduced thanks to common processes With a total development time of 42 months, the X 73 project was entirely carried out in the M2/S programme department at the Technocentre, which means that Renault can exploit common industrial processes and components to optimize the development time of its models, streamline its production facilities and increase the profitability of each project. The key to economies of scale does not lie in the number of parts that the programme's vehicles have in common, but rather in the sharing of industrial investment. In fact, the equipment needed for each range, their concept and definition are specific and guarantee that each has its own personality. The manufacturing process, on the other hand, is common to all, the same tools allowing three different ranges to be produced on site. Eighty per cent of body-in-white and final assembly operations are carried out at the same stations, in the same order and with variations in assembly times of less than 10 % between the different ranges. The regularity of production flows is guaranteed by the flexibility of industrial facilities, which will enable the Sandouville plant to attain its overall target of a production time of 15 hours per vehicle. A much reduced total programme outlay Vel Satis thus benefits from large investments made in engineering at the Technocentre for the M2/S programme and from the FRF 4.25 billion (EUR 647.9 million) invested to date in the Sandouville plant. This policy has resulted in a project price tag of FRF 3.6 billion for Vel Satis (EUR 533.6 million). These figures break down as follows:
Sandouville, an entirely
modernized plant to be home to Renault's top of the range Covering 152 hectares, including 51 hectares of buildings, the Sandouville plant has specialized in manufacturing Renault's top-of-the-range vehicles since its was built in 1964. With a workforce of over 6,000 people, it accounts for 10 % of Renault production (cars + LCVs) and constitutes a major regional economic hub in Normandy (north-west France). The launches of the new Laguna II vehicles and Vel Satis have led Renault to invest in a thorough modernization of its industrial facilities at Sandouville in order to make the plant more flexible and to focus the industrial process on the operations that bring value added to the end customer. To date Renault has invested FRF 4.25 billion (EUR 647.9 million) in renovating production systems at Sandouville. This sum includes: FRF 1.8 billion (EUR 274.5 million) for stamping; FRF 1.4 billion (EUR 213.4 million) for body assembly, which is 95 % automated with 400 robots capable of dealing with the different vehicle types; FRF 550 million (EUR 83.8 million) for painting, which enhances protection against corrosion; FRF 500 million (EUR 76.2 million) for final assembly, which has also benefited in terms of ergonomic improvements made to work stations. A revolutionary new approach to management Industrial modernization has been accompanied by an ambitious programme of team motivation at the Sandouville plant. Indeed, manufacturing top-of-the-range vehicles such as Vel Satis requires a management structure capable of rousing enthusiasm, notably via appropriate training programmes. Operators at Sandouville have been part of the X 73 project from as early as the design phase. During the manufacturing phase of Vel Satis, all personnel at the plant took part in an "awareness process", in which the themes of quality and customer expectations were considered in terms of project goals and issues. Sandouville is, furthermore, the pilot plant for the establishment of "operator skills courses", in which assembly personnel practice operating motions. Renault took its inspiration for this from a procedure observed at Nissan. There, the Nissan Production Way puts the work station at the heart of the industrial organization and standardizes the body movements at each particular station down to the smallest gesture. Such an organization allows factory productivity and product quality to be optimized, whilst galvanizing teams around the issues at stake in the programme. An Industrial Supplier Park for greater industrial efficiency Renault has installed an Industrial Supplier Park on the site at Sandouville. This brings together six of the major companies supplying parts for Vel Satis: Antolin, Faurecia, Inoplast, Lear, Solvay and Sommer Allibert. Being closer together in geographical terms offers a number of advantages technically, logistically and financially as well as in terms of quality assurance. This move to locate suppliers on the site of the plant itself was accompanied by a strengthening of links with first tier partners involved in the development and manufacturing of important vehicle functions. The companies present on the site ensure secure and synchronized supply to the Vel Satis assembly line, thus reducing the surface area and volume of stocked materials. Construction of the Industrial Supplier Park cost FRF 80 million (EUR 12.2 million). Investment in the buildings was financed by Renault with funding from local, regional and national authorities to the tune of 20 %. Source : Renault
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