Renault to Build Nissan's Next Hatch

The new model could be built in 2014 at Renault's Flins or Douai site.

Nissan said it would produce 80 000 units of the model, which have not yet been given a name, reports French newspaper Les Echos.

Renault told unions that it could produce an extra 80 000 vehicles a year at its domestic factories for partners Nissan or Daimler AG if workers agreed to a new labour deal.

French soil for japanese cars

Renault's domestic plants are among those hit hardest by vehicle industry over-capacity which has increased as many European countries have gone into recession.

The Flins site currently produces the Clio and Zoe electric vehicle. The Douai plant, meanwhile, is suffering from the decline in sales of Renault's Scenic but is due to receive the automaker's future mid and high-end ranges.

This would be the first time that Nissan produced cars on French soil, although it already builds vans there.

The French government, Renault's biggest shareholder with a 15% share, has said it wants Renault to support domestic employment by building cars for Nissan.