With Sarkozy gone, Renault returns to Turkish plant

ISTANBUL

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French car company Renault is set to launch the production of the Sports Tourer, the Station Wagon version of  its Renault Clio model, in its Bursa plant as Turkish-French relations normalize with the end of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's rule, daily Hürriyet reported.

Reports claimed that  the former president had told Renault not to produce its latest line of cars in their Bursa plant, which had left the firm struggling to maintain a minimum cost of production by dividing the work load between fims in France and Turkey. The former French president, however, even then reportedly insisted the production take place entirely in France.

Improved relations between the two nations following the end of Sarkozy’s presidential term have, however, altered the firm's final decision. Renault has relocated its entire production for the new Sports Tourer to its Bursa plant.

Renault will spend nearly 1,300 euros less on the production of each vehicle by manufacturing them in Turkey, with the overall savings reaching nearly 208 million euros in a year.
Production is set to begin in September.