Renault group under the Initiale Paris name may perhaps take 25 years to grow into a commercial success, chief operating officer Carlos Tavares has admitted. The move, which was speculated earlier this year, would trail the lead of Nissan with its Infiniti offshoot will not only complement the firm’s current brands Renault and Dacia, but also the potential launch of another new sports car marque with Alpine. “We have already used the Initiale Paris name for high-end special editions and for a concept car,” said Tavares. “But if we are to launch it as a brand then we must try something more specific. We must capture buyers who want to buy for the sake of design or attractiveness.”

Tavares is said to be considering using Renault’s collaboration with Mercedes, which was previously behind several joint ventures, in order to control the use of the next-generation E-class platform. The first car to be made off the platform is slated to be the new C-class in 2013, suggesting that a Renault offshoot wouldn’t arrive till at least 2015. However Tavares does not expect that any new premium brand will achieve quick success.

“It took 25 years for Infiniti to reach a point where it could fund its own products, and 30 years for Audi to be a success,” he said. Nevertheless, he asserted that Renault was big enough to maintain four brands. “It is clear that the space could be there in the market for an upmarket brand, and that the Renault Group has space for such approaches,” he said. Dacia possesses optimum features to qualify itself as a smart purchase; Renault offers a fundamental attractiveness and should work towards making a potential competitor buyer hesitate and consider Renault instead, while Alphine has the potential to put us in the sports car market if we go forward with it, Tavares added.

via Autocar