Renault: Low-cost Logans

Europe’s hard-pressed car makers are speeding ahead with low-cost cars. Ryanair’s low-cost flights and Inditex’s Zara fast fashion have shown how to appeal to budget-minded European consumers. But cheap cars may not be the answer to the European industry’s problems. The breakthrough was Renault’s budget Romanian-made Logan, a Spartan, four door mid-size vehicle that sells in Europe for an average of E9000. Regular new cars of similar size cost roughly double. When launched in 2004, the French c...