- Renault ultimately decided to do without its partner Daimler for its future top-end vehicles, particularly the future Espace (2014) and Laguna (2016) models. It is a Nissan platform which was chosen for developing the two new models that will be produced at Douai.

- In its range of vehicles, the Renault-Nissan group have D and E segment platforms, used in particular by Infiniti, the group’s top-end brand.These platforms may provide a response to Renault’s demand, like Samsung managed to do in the past with the Fluence, Koleos and Latitude vehicles.

- In the D and E segments, decade after decade, Renault has seen its production gradually decrease down to a level which is now too small to say. Consequently, fewer than 30 000 units of the Laguna are produced each year (as opposed to 100 000 in 2007 and 250 000 in 2002). Only the Espace model continues to be produced by the manufacturer in the E segment, although also in very small quantities.

- The ambition for the future top-end vehicle, based on a Nissan platform, will be to increase Renault’s sales volumes in the D and E segments, particularly in China, where Renault previously had a low profile due to the Renault-Nissan group’s agreements.

- The Greek market is the one that has fallen the most in Europe since  the 2008 financial crisis. This market has in fact gone from 280 000 sales of new cars in 2007 to just 58 000 units in 2012, amounting to an 80% fall in sales over a 5-year period.

- Greece's economic context has played a predominant role in the downturn in the motor vehicle market.

- Thus, in 2012, the Greek market fell back down to the level it reached in the 1960s, cancelling out the spectacular growth experienced in the 1990s, when the market reached a peak of 300 000 units per annum.

- All of the manufacturers have been adversely affected, even though the VW Group is managing to stand out from the pack.

- It is still difficult to make forecasts for the years 2013-2017 given the depth of the economic malaise, but for the time being, a reversal in the trend is not envisaged. The Greek market again fell 21% in February 2013 (compared to February 2012).

- The Romanianmotorvehiclemarketis one of the marketsthat has experienced the greatestdecline in Europe since the 2008 financialcrisis. This marketdid in fact go from 313 000 sales of new cars in 2007 to 71 000 units in 2012, amounting to a 77% drop in sales over a five-yearperiod.

- The economiccontext has gone hand in hand with a massive influx of second-hand vehiclesfromotherEuropean countries which has greatlydestabilised the new vehiclesmarket as a whole, along the samelines as whathappened in Poland in the early 2000s (whenthatmarketexperienced a 50% decline over just a few years).

- The Romanianmarketthusfell in 2012 to a levelachieved 11 yearsbefore,cancelling out the spectaculargrowthexperiencedfrom 2003-2007, when the markettripled.

- 2013-2017 shouldwitness a slow reversal in the trend resulting in a climb to a level of 100 000 sales of new cars in 2017,althoughRomania'svehicleownership rate continues to below (lessthan  200 vehicles per 1 000 head of population).