French Renault Group, which makes the Logan model, will boost the production capacity of the plant in Ploiesti from 235,000 to 350,000 units by January 2008. This will increase the turnover of Automobile Dacia by over one billion euros.
"Our future plans include boosting the production capacity of the plant in Ploiesti, with production set to reach 350,000 vehicles per year as of January 2008," stated Francois Fourmont, the general manager of Automobile Dacia.
Considering Dacia sold 164,000 vehicles in 2005 and made 1.2 billion-euro turnover, the increase in production capacity should increase the turnover of the Pitesti-based company to more than 2.5 billion euros.
The operation will entail a 178 million-euro investment until the end of 2007, to add to the 650 million euros invested by the French Renault group in Dacia since taking over the plant in 1998.
The announcement was made yesterday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Administration and Interior (MAI), which received the last car out of the 6,000 Logans bought by public open tender at the end of 2005.
"The Ministry was allocated funds to buy these cars by a government decision. This operation had 300 million RON (83.5 million euros) allocated, but the tender organised at the end of last year allowed us to manage with a lower amount," stated Vasile Blaga, Minister of Administration and Interior.
The value of the contract brokered by the Ager Leasing company, almost 260 million RON (72 million euros), is to be paid until 2008. Other companies to have participated in the MAI tender were the leasing company of the French group BRD-Groupe Soci?t? G?n?rale and Romexterra Leasing, Ager Leasing general manger Razvan Dumitrescu says.
"This is a contract we wanted to get and is also the biggest our company has ever signed," Dumitrescu stated. "Our bid was better than that o
