There will be no new Renault Koleos 2020, sales start canceled

Last updated Apr 15, 2022

Today, information began to arrive that Renault has canceled the start of sales of the new Koleos 2020 in the current market. According to the company's plans, the launch of the updated flagship was planned for the first spring months. But external factors intervened – the outbreak of COVID-19 and the unstable economic situation. The production of already ordered cars was stopped.

I must say that this is the right decision in the current situation. It is necessary to launch the model in favorable conditions with stable demand and a clear pricing policy, but this, alas, is not the case now.

Renault Koleos is currently the only model from the brand line that is not localized in our country, and its price directly depends on the national currency exchange rate. The car is assembled at a factory in Busan, South Korea. But now production has suffered because of the proximity to China, whose industry is partially paralyzed. The entire concern Renault Nissan Mitsubishi was held hostage by the situation with the virus. Nissan factories in Xiangyang and Zhengzhou remain closed indefinitely, while three other plants outside the region have resumed production. Two Renault joint ventures in Wuhan also remain closed. The closure of factories in China also affected Nissan production in Japan.

In China itself, in the first half of February, sales of passenger cars fell by 92 percent compared to the same period last year. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), in the first week of the month, daily averages fell by 96 percent to 811 cars sold per day. No one will increase production amid falling global demand.

And at the plant where Renault Koleos is produced, the situation is quite complicated. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, cumulative sales in January and February fell 47 percent from the same period a year earlier. Since last year there has been a labor dispute between the trade union and the management of the company. The reason, as elsewhere, is an increase in wages. The company sold 177,450 vehicles in Korea and abroad in 2019, down 22 percent from a year ago, due to reduced demand in the domestic market and a reduction in the production of the Nissan Rogue SUV, known to us as the Nissan Qashqai, which accounted for half of the production. factory in Busan. At the beginning of 2020, the production of the new XM3 SUV, an analogue of our Renault Arkana, which was successfully launched in South Korea, began at the same production facilities.

Our car market for Koleos, by world standards, is small. Cumulative sales did not exceed 1,000 units for the year, although its competitor X-Trail showed 22,878 units in the past 2019. The French SUV played more of the role of an image car, decorating car showrooms and setting the overall tone and style for the entire lineup. Yes, and the new Renault Koleos 2019 itself is a kind of Nissan X-Trail only in a different body. Everything is repeated, from the wheelbase to the range of X-Trail engines.

The delay in its launch of Koleos will have little effect on the overall sales results of Renault in our market. Moreover, the pent-up demand for medium SUVs can be realized at the expense of other models of competitors, and by the time Koleos goes on sale, buyers who are ready to buy it at the new price simply will not refuse. The date of the start of sales is not yet known. It can be assumed that if the situation on the market as a whole does not improve in the coming months, the concern will completely abandon the premiere this year. Wait and see.

So, if someone was planning to buy a new Koleos, then there is nothing to please. But at the same time, I advise you to pay attention to the 2019 Renault Koleos cars that are still on the market. There are not many of them, but they can be found at individual dealers, and, as far as we know, still at the old prices, and I am sure that they will be quickly snapped up now. Perhaps the situation is such that we will already see a shortage of models in some segments of the automotive market.