Renault, Slovenia sign MoU on production of new electric city car

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault and the government of Slovenia on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the production of a revised version of its Twingo electric vehicle, the STA news agency reported.

Production at the Revoz plant in Novo Mesto will start in 2026 with an annual output of 150,000 vehicles initially, officials said. They declined to disclose the amount of investment involved.

The MoU was signed at the plant, which has been producing Renault vehicles since 1973, by Prime Minister Robert Golob, Renault Vice-president Herbert Steiner and Revoz CEO Jože Bele, STA reported.

According to the memorandum, the government has recognised the investment as strategic and is ready to support production of the new model at Novo Mesto.

"Today we are signing the commitment of Renault and the government to jointly develop a production line for a new electric car at this location," Golob said.

Bele said the deal will enable Revoz to sustain production and retain 1,400 current employees after a previous deal on assembling old Twingo and electric Twingo models ended. The company currently assembles only Clio 5 vehicles in a single shift.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; editing by Jason Neely)