Podcast : The Logan : Renault's accidental success ?

The success of Renault’s Logan is intriguing. How has this iconic company reacted to pressure to ‘stay French’ ? Is Renault going down a dead end at a time when people say that European car manufacturers should aim for the top-of-the-range where the cost differentials of the labour force have less influence ? Is this not a case of ‘mistaken success’ which is likely to be short-lived ? One could argue that the Entry Programme is profitable and innovative even though this may seem paradoxical for low cost cars, and that Renault has no competition in the lower priced car market. Has the company found an original way of bypassing the saturated developed world markets by relying on the growth of the middle classes in developing countries ? Is this not the precursor of a revolution similar to that which was introduced by Ford in the 20th century, or the ‘low cost’ airline travel revolution ? If this is the case, then this might raise questions regarding preconceived ideas about the car industry.