Automotive Exports December 2019

Engines for Renault’s hybrid vehicles
to be manufactured at Bursa plant
Renault Group, one of the leading
brands in the production of fully
electric cars, could not stay away from
hybrid models. There are eight hybrid
models among the plans of the French
automotive giant, which is preparing
to sell 12 electric models by 2022. The
carmaker’s first hybrid models will be
on the road as of 2020. Clio will be the
first hybrid model to be offered, while
the first rechargeable plug-in-hybrid
model will be Captur. Megane will join
the hybrid product range later.
Answering the reporters’ questions
during a test drive of the new Captur
in Greece’s capital Athens, Renault
Corporate Press Officer Vincent
Frappreau said that the renewed
Captur will be the first Renault model
with a plug-in hybrid engine. Frappreau
stated that the hybrid engine, named
E-TECH plug-in, was developed by the
alliance. He explained that the hybrid
engines to be used in Renault models
will be manufactured in Turkey’s
northwestern province of Bursa,
recalling that they invested greatly in
hybrid engines in facilities of OYAK-
Renault, a joint venture with Turkey’s
military pension fund.
Oyak Renault, which received a TL
493 million incentive for the hybrid
car investment under the Project-
Based Incentive System announced
by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
last year, laid the foundation of its
new facility in October 2018. Hybrid
engines to be manufactured at the
Bursa facility will be exported for use
in Renault Group brands. Thus, Turkey
will become the hybrid production base
of the French automotive giant.
Renault filed over 150 patents for the
E-TECH plug-in engine to be introduced
with the new Captur. The new Captur
has two electric traction engines, a
gearbox developed with the Renault
F1 experience and a 9.8 kWh battery.
Captur offers a range of 45 kilometers
at speed of 135 kph in mixed-use and
approximately 65 kilometers in urban
use.
Berk Çağdaş, general manager of
Renault Mais, said that automotive
is one of the key sectors for the
Turkish economy, suggesting that tax
simplification should be introduced
in this regard. Çağdaş also pointed to
the confusing taxation system in the
automotive industry, saying of every
100 passenger cars sold in Turkey,
around 97 are 1.6 liters and under.
“Automobiles over 1.6 liters only have a
share of 3%. If a tax regulation is made
with only this in mind, we can generate
much more added value than the
existing system,” he added.
The new Captur, which will use the
hybrid engine to be manufactured in
Bursa, has sold 1.5 million units since
its launch in 2013. It had only one
competitor in the first year of its sale,
while there are over 20 competitors
in its segment. Captur became the
market leader in the highly competitive
European B-SUV market with 215,000
units in 2018. The car’s share in the
Turkish car market, on the other
hand, is 3.7%. The automotive sector
is demanding the extension of the
incentives applied for scrap cars, which
will expire at the end of 2019. Backing
this demand, Çağdaş said one-third
of Turkey’s vehicle park consists of
15-to-16-year-old vehicles, adding the
incentive for scrap should be extended
to pull out the old vehicles that are
harmful to human health, traffic safety
and the economy. He further explained
that in Greece, a new regulation
was introduced for the withdrawal
of vehicles 10 years or older and the
sale of hybrid and electric vehicles,
underlining that a similar system
should be introduced in Turkey as well.
December 2019 66