Renault SOFASA

Renault SOFASA ; Sociedad de Fabricación de Automotores SA
legal form	SA
founding	1969
Seat	Envigado , Colombia
management	Luiz Fernando Pedrucci Araujo
Number of employees	1,600 (June 2017)
Branch	Automobile manufacturer
Website	www.renault.com.co

Renault SOFASA , usually only mentioned with the acronym SOFASA for Sociedad de Fabricación de Automotores SA , is a joint venture in the automotive industry of the French Renault Group with the Colombian government and Grupo Bavaria, which was founded in 1969 . The automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer is based in Envigado near Medellín .

overview

With more than 1 million vehicles produced since its inception, Renault SOFASA is an important factor in the small automotive industry in Colombia . In 2014 the company sold over 50,000 vehicles with a market share of 16.6 percent. Around 40% of the production in Envigado, around 20,000 units, is exported to 11 countries in Central and South America. The main contingent goes to Mexico with 60% of the exported vehicles.

In addition to vehicles from the Renault brand, Renault SOFASA also assembles vehicles from the Japanese brands Daihatsu and Toyota for the South American markets. The company also operates another plant at the Duitama site . In addition , there has been a subsidiary in Valencia , Venezuela , since 1995 under the name Sociedad de Fabricación y Venta de Automóviles SA Since 2007 there has been another joint venture under the name Hino de Colombia SA for the manufacture and sale of vehicles of the Hino brand.

history

The plant began operations in 1970 with the production of the Renault 4L . The government's goal was to use the new plant to expand the infrastructure for the automotive industry in the country. Renault SOFASA was the second automobile manufacturer in Colombia after Chrysler Colmotores SA . In the years that followed, Renault had the Renault 6 and Renault 12 car models manufactured here. In the 1980s, the last two models were replaced by the Renault 18 and Renault 9 .

At the end of the decade , Renault also fully acquired the shares of Grupo Bavaria and thus took over the majority of the company. The plant has been 60 percent owned by Renault since 2003. Toyota has 28 percent and Mitsui with a 12 percent stake.

Assembly orders came later to assemble the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Toyota Hilux for the local market. A short time later, Renault also modernized its local model range by taking the previously imported Renault 21 into production under the name Renault Etoile . The Renault 19 followed a year later with a wide range of equipment options.

But the Renault Clio was also able to establish itself on the Colombian market and was one of the most successful vehicles of the French brand. Meanwhile, the R19 has been renamed from Renault SOFASA to Renault Energy . With the Renault Mégane Unique and the Renault Symbol based on the Clio , this success story could be increased again.

The current model range, however, is provided by the Renault Logan , the Renault Mégane Odeon , the Renault Sandero , the Renault Stepway , the Renault Symbol Avancée and, since 2012, the Renault Duster .