Renault to Cut 7,500 Jobs in France by 2016

Renault has recently announced that it too will be joining the club of European automakers desperate to make ends meet, in these times of economic turmoil. Following the model set by PSA and Opel, Renault has announced that it will be cutting a huge number of jobs, by the year 2016 - 7,500 in total!

Still, despite the news being not-so-good, the CEO of the company, Carlos Ghosn has announced that no plants in France will be closed, though we suspect the number of workers will go down considerably. Apparently, the company is still not breaking even, as Gerard Leclerq, the head of Renault’s French operations, said: "If an agreement is signed with unions, this staff redeployment would require neither a plant closing nor any forced departures."

Also, Renault won`t actually fire all the 7,500 workers, as the jobs will also be cut through ‘natural turnover’, which basically means resignations and retirements. The number of workers being laid off, in total, equates to around 14% of their entire French workforce.

Still, in case everything does take a turn for the worst, they will still have Dacia to drag them back up to the straight and level.

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Front Fascia of the Renault Captur Crossover Rendered

With one day to go before it gets officially revealed, indianautosblog.com have decided to make a rendering of the front fascia of the new Renault Captur crossover. The Clio-based high-rider will feature the same bold styling language of its supermini sibling, and it needs to be very good, as the market sector it is trying to penetrate is becoming increasingly-crowded, competitive and talented.

Speaking of rivals, we say it is a good idea to mention them, in this context, just to give you an idea of what it is up against: Fiat 500X, Skoda Yeti, Chevy Trax, Opel Mokka, Peugeot 2008, Ford EcoSport, Nissan Juke and even the Dacia Duster and Sandero Stepway.

Its range of engines is a predictable one, and will feature, at least at first, just the 900cc turbocharged TCe 90 and the TCe 120 petrol engines, as well as 90 and 110 hp versions of the 1.5-liter DCi diesel, as well as a 130 hp all-new 1.6-liter DCi. All-wheel drive will be offered as an option.

The Captur is set to be completely revealed tomorrow, along with additional details, so at least we don`t have long to wait to see it from all angles.

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Renault Zoe Breaks 24H Distance Record

We are very eagerly awaiting the launch of Renault’s supermini EV, the Zoe, some time in the autumn of this year. It is a genuinely exciting car because it features Renault’s excellent styling language, a great interior, about 90 hp of instant and seamless oil-free power and 210 km (130-mile) of autonomy.

On June 2nd, in Aubevoye, France, the Zoe broke the distance record for 24 hours. It managed to cover 1590 km (994 miles), surpassing the old record of 1241 km (776 miles). The car did not achieve this feat on a single charge, as you may have imagined - the car was recharged several times during the run, though it is unclear how or when, as the car had to average around 66 km/h (41 mph).

This record does prove that the car can be driver for long periods of time and distances, and that batteries are indeed the main source of concern and doubt for possible future owners. However, with recent developments in battery technology, maybe this battery issue will be a thing of the past, soon!

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The Supercar Club Giro Italia 2012 in Florence

The Supercar Club from England visited the Ognissanti square in Florence, Italy, where they started their Giro Italia 2012 tour. Our Italian reporter Matteo woke up at 5:00am to check out the large group of 25 supercars in the Italian city.

The event takes place every two years and brings together owners of high performance cars who spend a week driving the most beautiful Italian roads, surrounded by beautiful landscapes and accompanied by delicious food. The event will end, as always, at the Casino square in Monte Carlo.

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French Automaker PGO to Get BMW Engine Technology

While also testing out a range extender EV/hybrid version of the Hemera, independent French automaker PGO will be getting a big boost in their technology credentials with the help of BMW. They have recently signed and agreement with the Germans to use BMW engines in their current and future cars.

All PGO models are currently powered by a very old 2-liter 140 hp engine which is a lot less than what the Hemera’s chassis can handle. With BMW engines and technology, the appeal of PGO may rise dramatically and we may start hearing more often about the French manufacturer.

"The arrival of a BMW engine will allow our models to be more powerful, more attractive, more innovative but also more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly," said Mr Boudemagh President of PGO Automobiles.

The collaboration is a serious one, as back in 2010, what appeared to be a Hemera-mule of some sort was spotted at a BMW factory in Germany. We hope to hear more of PGO soon and we hope that with their future cars they will at least try to ‘get inspiration’ from a French car, not a German one, and preferably from the 1960s.

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PGO Shows e-Hemera Hybrid

Not may people know of PGO, but they are a small and independent French car manufacturer - a rare thing these days. They are best known for their Hemera sports car - an automobile which looks very much like a Porsche 356 - in a very neo-retro kind of way.

Apart from the 1960s inspired styling, people who have driven it say it’s actually a very fun little car to drive, with its very low weight of under 1 ton, and 140 hp 2.0-liter engine. Now though, they’re moving into the future with a hybrid version of their Hemera. It features a 15kWh battery pack which is good for around 90 km (50 miles) of all electric range, which is replenished by a two-cylinder range extender which is powered by E85 ethanol, instead of gasoline.

With the car still using the standard Hemera’s 5-cog manual gearbox in combination with the electric motor, the results should be interesting to see.

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