THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO AND THE RENAULT

NISSAN ALLIANCE ANNOUNCE THE CREATION OF

NEW MANUFACTURING COMPLEX

- Memorandum Of Understanding signed today in Morocco -

TANGIER (September 1, 2007) – Under the presidency of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Prime Minister of Morocco, Driss Jettou and President and CEO of Renault and Nissan, Carlos Ghosn today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the creation of a new industrial complex in the Tangier region of North Morocco. The complex will be constructed to support a manufacturing capacity of 400,000 vehicles a year, with an initial planned capacity of 200,000 from 2010. Planned investments in manufacturing capacity for this project are estimated at €600 million, with a first phase of €350 million.

Creating one of the largest vehicle manufacturing facilities in the Mediterranean, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Renault Nissan Alliance have today committed to a feasibility study for setting up an industrial complex, located on a 300-hectare site on the Mediterranean port of Tangier. In addition to the natural geographic advantages of the North Morocco region, the plant would also benefit from the leading-edge logistics infrastructure developed by the Kingdom of Morocco in the North of the country. Planned investments in manufacturing capacity for this project are estimated at €600 million, with a first phase of €350 million. In addition to this amount, a further specific investment of €200 to 400 million will be made according to the variety of vehicles produced.

"Given the large amount of the investment, the size of the manufacturing facility and the total number of jobs that would be created, this project would be one of the key industrial achievements of the Kingdom." Prime Minister Driss Jettou declared.
"Through this project, I would like Morocco to become a strategic global base at the highest competitive level worldwide in the Alliance's manufacturing system. In addition, I sincerely hope that this initiative will make a significant and sustainable contribution to economic growth in Morocco" declared Carlos Ghosn.

Managed by Renault, this Alliance facility would extend Renault's manufacturing system for the production of competitive vehicles derived from the Logan platform and Nissan's system for the production of new-generation light commercial vehicles. 90% of these vehicles would be exported.

Almost 6,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs would be created through this project. With a workforce of this size, the Renault-Nissan Alliance would become one of the principal employers in the Tangier region. Further investment has been committed by the Alliance to train and support the skills and educational development of its local employees.

The Kingdom of Morocco and the Alliance expect to sign a General Agreement by the end of 2007.

Background notes

Renault and Nissan in Morocco
Commercially present in Morocco since 1928, Renault has been assembling vehicles at SOMACA since 1966. With 27,000 vehicles sold in 2006, the Renault Group is leader on the Moroccan market with its two brands Renault and Dacia, which rank respectively first (16.6%) and second (15.1%). Launched in July 2005, Logan became the best selling vehicle in Morocco within its first six-months. In 2006, 12,700 Logan were sold in Morocco.
SIAB, the Nissan importer, is 100% owned by Renault Morocco and distributes the Nissan brand.
In 2006, 1,100 Nissans were sold.
SOMACA (Moroccan Society of Automobile Construction) is located in Casablanca. Owned 80% by the Renault Group and 20% by the PSA Group, SOMACA has been assembling Renault Kangoo since 1997 and Dacia Logan since 2005. In total, Renault currently employs 1,500 people in Morocco.

Renault Corporate
The Renault Group generated global revenues of €41,528 million in 2006. It designs, engineers, manufactures and sells innovative, passenger and light commercial vehicles throughout the world.
The Renault Group is present in 118 countries and sells vehicles under its three brands – Renault, Dacia and Samsung. The Renault Group employs 129,000 people worldwide.
Within the Renault Commitment 2009 plan, the Group sets itself three commitments:
- Quality: New Laguna to be top three in terms of product and service quality
- Profitability: an operating margin of 6% in 2009
- Growth: sell an additional 800,000 vehicles by 2009, compared with 2005

Nissan Corporate
Nissan Motor Company generated global net revenues of 10.468 trillion yen in 2006. Nissan is present in all major global auto markets selling a comprehensive range of cars, pickup trucks, SUVs and light commercial vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. Nissan employs over 180,000 people worldwide.
Under the Nissan Value-Up business plan, the company continues to focus on long-term sustainable and profitable growth driven by three commitments:
- To maintain top level of operating profit margin among global automakers
- To achieve global sales of 4.2 million units in 2009
- 20% return on invested capital on average over the course of the plan
In 2007, Nissan will introduce 11 all-new products globally, with a further 33 to be introduced during the following three years.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance, created in 1999, is the fourth largest automotive group in the world by sales volume (5,965,000 vehicles sold in 2006). The Alliance aims to be ranked in the top three in terms of quality, technology and profitability amongst the major global automakers.

sursa: renault.com