Ultra-economy market fuelling Logan's run

The rise of a new consumer trend has seen sales of ultra-economy cars — such as the Renault Logan — soar in western Europe despite the car being targeted at the less affluent eastern European market. According to analysts KPMG, the “rocketing” phenomenon — where consumers trade up the main family car and reclaim the costs by downgrading the second car — is transforming the new car market. Mike Steventon, head of automotive at KPMG, said: “Previous attempts by the major car manufacturers to sell economy models have not been a huge success. “However, it now appears that Renault may have cracked the problem with a solution that is creating waves throughout the industry.” KPMG said the success Renault had achieved with the Logan could lead other manufacturers to follow its lead and produce budget models. Volkswagen is known to be working on a prototype called the 3-K, which reflects its target manufacturing price of Euro 3,000 and Peugeot is also considering a low-cost approach. “Cars like the Logan can appeal to the public in two ways,” Steventon said. “They can appeal to buyers who are in the market for a genuinely low-cost car as their only vehicle and they can appeal to buyers who are rocketing their primary car up to something more expensive and need to claw back the extra cost without ending up with a secondary car which looks cheap and primitive. “This means that — even in fashion and badge conscious Britain — these new ultra-economy cars could have a very bright future,” he added.