Renault to increase car output in Spain to 500,000 a year, Expansion reports

MADRID (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault plans to increase its output in Spain to 500,000 cars a year, the pre-pandemic level, up from 300,000 in 2023, Spanish newspaper Expansion reported on Thursday, citing a local executive.

Renault, which operates one plant in Palencia and another in Valladolid, will start producing its Rafale hybrid SUV in Spain together with Espace, Austral, Captur and Symbioz models, Expansion said quoting Jose Martin Vega, its head of its industrial activities in Iberia.

"We depend on the market, but we are optimistic, because with five new vehicles we should be able to return to pre-Covid volumes," Martin Vega said.

A spokesperson for Renault did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)