Carlos Ghosn: "Renault Tanger-Med, without a doubt"
13 November 2008
Read by 1738 persons
Carlos Ghosn confirmed the continuation of the Renault plant in Tangier, reaffirming the strategic importance of this project for his group. ALM reveals the main stages of this visit which served to reassure people.
Carlos Ghosn. Everyone was talking about him on Monday afternoon (June 15th), the day he held a press conference in Rabat before being received by His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The head of Renault (and Nissan) had been in the country since last Saturday, more precisely in Tangier. His private jet landed the day before a busy day. From the early hours of Sunday morning, Mr. Ghosn visited the site of the future Renault plant, expected to open in a little over a year. He met with, among others, the president of TMSA, Saïd El Hadi, and saw the progress of the construction. The work is progressing as planned, including the earthworks, launched in autumn 2008 and two-thirds complete. Afterward, the CEO flew to the capital. Early Monday morning, he met with more than fifty executives, specially recruited for the plant and the "Renault Tanger-Med" project.
The next step was the press conference in the early afternoon alongside the Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies, Ahmed Réda Chami. Mr. Ghosn used this opportunity to clarify this massive project ("Hercule" is its code name at Renault) and reaffirm his group's commitment.
"The project will be ready on time (...) but the ramp-up of its production rate will be a little slower than planned," he said, recalling the announcement made on September 1st, 2007, during the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Renault and the Moroccan government. In short, construction of the Renault plant in Tangier will begin in September and be completed by the end of 2011. It will produce two new Renault models, with the first cars rolling off the assembly lines in early 2012. Upon commissioning, the site will start with a rate of 30 units per hour and an initial capacity of at least 170,000 vehicles per year. This volume will more than double two years later.
"I have no doubt that this plant will eventually have a production capacity of 400,000 vehicles per year. I have no doubt that at some point, Nissan will join Renault in this project. The Tangier project has not been called into question; it has simply been adjusted to reflect market developments as we see them. This adjustment does not call into question the team's ability, the project's start, or the fact that this plant, although it will start as a Renault plant, will eventually become an Alliance plant," stated Carlos Ghosn.
This was not enough for some journalists who questioned him about Nissan's withdrawal and even about as outlandish rumors as Renault bringing Romanian workers to its factories in Morocco. He denied all this, insisting once again that Nissan is temporarily withdrawing but will certainly return to Tangier as soon as its situation allows.
"Even the earthworks for Nissan's part of the plant (in Tangier) have been completed," he said.
Mr. Chami reaffirmed "the strategic importance of this project for the Moroccan economy," while stressing that it will be accompanied by the creation of specialized automotive training institutes to train qualified personnel.
In conclusion, and according to automotive experts, Carlos Ghosn's visit to Morocco was only to reassure the public about the project's continuation and silence rumors, particularly those of a possible cancellation.
Published June 17, 2009
Jalil Bennani
Posted online June 18, 2009
aujourdhui.ma
Carlos Ghosn. Everyone was talking about him on Monday afternoon (June 15th), the day he held a press conference in Rabat before being received by His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The head of Renault (and Nissan) had been in the country since last Saturday, more precisely in Tangier. His private jet landed the day before a busy day. From the early hours of Sunday morning, Mr. Ghosn visited the site of the future Renault plant, expected to open in a little over a year. He met with, among others, the president of TMSA, Saïd El Hadi, and saw the progress of the construction. The work is progressing as planned, including the earthworks, launched in autumn 2008 and two-thirds complete. Afterward, the CEO flew to the capital. Early Monday morning, he met with more than fifty executives, specially recruited for the plant and the "Renault Tanger-Med" project.
The next step was the press conference in the early afternoon alongside the Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies, Ahmed Réda Chami. Mr. Ghosn used this opportunity to clarify this massive project ("Hercule" is its code name at Renault) and reaffirm his group's commitment.
"The project will be ready on time (...) but the ramp-up of its production rate will be a little slower than planned," he said, recalling the announcement made on September 1st, 2007, during the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Renault and the Moroccan government. In short, construction of the Renault plant in Tangier will begin in September and be completed by the end of 2011. It will produce two new Renault models, with the first cars rolling off the assembly lines in early 2012. Upon commissioning, the site will start with a rate of 30 units per hour and an initial capacity of at least 170,000 vehicles per year. This volume will more than double two years later.
"I have no doubt that this plant will eventually have a production capacity of 400,000 vehicles per year. I have no doubt that at some point, Nissan will join Renault in this project. The Tangier project has not been called into question; it has simply been adjusted to reflect market developments as we see them. This adjustment does not call into question the team's ability, the project's start, or the fact that this plant, although it will start as a Renault plant, will eventually become an Alliance plant," stated Carlos Ghosn.
This was not enough for some journalists who questioned him about Nissan's withdrawal and even about as outlandish rumors as Renault bringing Romanian workers to its factories in Morocco. He denied all this, insisting once again that Nissan is temporarily withdrawing but will certainly return to Tangier as soon as its situation allows.
"Even the earthworks for Nissan's part of the plant (in Tangier) have been completed," he said.
Mr. Chami reaffirmed "the strategic importance of this project for the Moroccan economy," while stressing that it will be accompanied by the creation of specialized automotive training institutes to train qualified personnel.
In conclusion, and according to automotive experts, Carlos Ghosn's visit to Morocco was only to reassure the public about the project's continuation and silence rumors, particularly those of a possible cancellation.
Published June 17, 2009
Jalil Bennani
Posted online June 18, 2009
aujourdhui.ma
