• Brazil’s gender gap closing as world’s fourth largest car group expands manufacturing footprint

• Renault Brazil has 50% more women today compared with five years ago; the number of women on Renault Brazil’s assembly lines has doubled in five years

• Women account for 20% of all of Nissan Brazil’s managers, as well as 20% of the workforce at headquarters

 

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL (May 26, 2014)—Brazil has become a case study for rapidly improving gender diversity at the Renault-Nissan Alliance, where the world’s fourth largest car group by volume is expanding its manufacturing footprint.

 

For instance:

• Renault has increased the total percentage of women employees in Brazil 50% in five years 

• Since 2009, the number of female workers on Renault’s assembly lines in Brazil has doubled

• In just one year, Nissan nearly tripled the number of female managers in Brazil. Women now account for nearly 20% of all its managers.

• Women account for 20% of the workforce at Nissan’s headquarters in Brazil

• 15% of the workers at the Nissan Resende plant are women; Nissan aims to boost that figure to 25% by 2016.

 

“Brazil is a key pillar of growth for both Renault and Nissan, along with other emerging markets such as China and Russia,” said Marie-Françoise Damesin, Alliance Executive Vice President, Human Resources. “In these markets, we have been hiring rapidly – and that means we can execute change faster than in mature markets. That’s great news for gender equity.”

 

To cement its commitment to closing the gender gap in Latin America, the Alliance is partnering with Women’s Forum Brazil 2014, a networking summit in São Paulo for women in the public and private sectors. This marks the third straight year the Alliance is sponsoring the annual event which will take place May 26-27 at the São Paulo Hyatt Hotel. 

 

More than 500 participants, including government officials and CEOs of leading companies from Brazil and other South American countries, will attend to discuss women’s achievements and challenges in creating a more gender-neutral society.

 

 

New manufacturing investments 

 

Just last month, Renault announced a new investment cycle in Brazil, already its No. 2 market after France. Renault is investing R$500 million (US$223 million) over the 2014-2019 period. This investment will be channeled into the development of two new cars at Renault’s plant in Curitiba. 

 

Renault will invest an additional R$240 million (US$107 million) over the next 10 years to support the creation of a new distribution center to supply Renault’s 275 outlets in Brazil and other markets. The investments are expected to help Renault boost its market share in Brazil to 8% in 2016, up from 6.6% in 2013.

 

Earlier in April, Nissan inaugurated its R$2.6 billion (USD $1.5 billion*) industrial complex in Resende, Rio de Janeiro, one of the largest automotive investments by any manufacturer in the country. The new facility will be able to produce 200,000 vehicles and engines per year. (Watch Nissan’s video here: http://alliance-renault-nissan.com/blog/nissan-inaugurates-automotive-complex-brazil)

 

The investment is part of Nissan’s plan to achieve a 5% market share in Brazil and to become the number one Japanese automotive brand in the country.

 

Nissan Brazil is a sponsor of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games which will be held in Rio de Janeiro. Nissan will provide 5,300 vehicles to transport athletes, officials and journalists during the Games – the first time they have been held in South America.

 

Together, Renault and Nissan sold more than 300,000 vehicles in Brazil in 2013, giving the Alliance an 8.8% market share.

 

On Tuesday, the Renault-Nissan Alliance will host the Women’s Forum Brazil closing lunch, which will be held under the theme “Expectations, Hopes, and Dreams, from Parent to Daughter.” The lunch will feature a discussion between two sets of famous parents and daughters: singers Fafá de Belém & Mariana Belém, as well as Luiza Helena Trajano, CEO of retail store Luiza, and her daughter Ana Luiza Trajano, chef of Brasil o Gusto. 

 

Olivier Murguet, CEO of Renault Brazil, will host the lunch. The session will be moderated by Sandra Regina Boccia, Editorial Director of Pequenas Empresas & Grandes Negócios.

 

Renault-Nissan has partnered with the Women’s Forum since 2006 and has been a top sponsor of the organization’s premier global event, a 1,200-delegate conference in October in Deauville, France.

 

* Exchange rate from October 2011 when investment was announced

 

ABOUT THE RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a strategic partnership between Paris-based Renault and Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan, which together sell one in 10 cars worldwide. The Alliance, which celebrated its 15th anniversary earlier this year, sold 8.3 million cars in nearly 200 countries in 2013. In addition to AVTOVAZ, the Alliance has strategic partnerships with other automakers including Germany’s Daimler, Japan’s Mitsubishi, China’s Dongfeng and India’s Ashok Leyland. For more information on Renault-Nissan, go to blog.alliance-renault-nissan.com

 

 

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Adriana Costa

Renault Brazil

[email protected] 

Tel: +55 11 2184-9420 

Mobile: +55 11 98799-2427

 

Alexandre Carvalho

Nissan Brazil

[email protected]  

Tel: +55 11 2184-8382 

Mobile: +55 11 95376-4812