Renault Ouvre en Algérie

Hello, my friends. You know, the Renault Group opened a factory in Algeria today and it has created such a stir that I feel a certain license to come and speak on this point. So first of all, I'm just going to give you a very quick update on the Algerian car market. What's happening is that Algeria has always had very strange laws governing the importation of vehicles, practically since 1962. If I think about modern history. Algeria does not manufacture cars. And so individuals have two options to buy a car. The first option is to go to the local secondary market, so this is generally done on Fridays and then either go abroad to get a car. In Europe, what happens is that the average citizen can buy a new car or a second hand car, as they say. But here at least you can buy a car that is 2 years old, 3 years old, 5 years old, and it will be in very good condition. Many people have the money to buy a new car, but they don't want to buy a new car. Why? Because a car that is 18 months old has been practically well maintained and is in practically the same condition as a car that has just left the factory, except that half of its value has already been lost. The Algerian doesn't have that choice. What happens is that when he goes abroad to look for a car, the state forces him to buy a new car. That means a car from the same year, a car that has just left the dealership. So what happens is that we find this very, very funny situation where the Algerian will pay more for his car than the French or German pay, while the Algerian has a standard of living, a salary much lower than the Europeans. In addition, once he brings the car back, he will have to pay a tax of almost equivalent to the price of the new car. Okay? So in fact the net result is that very few cars arrive, very few new cars arrive on the market compared, if you like, to the demand of this market. And what happens is that if you sit down, take a seat and sit on the side of the road, you will see the license plates, because Algerian cars can tell the year of registration of the vehicle on their license plates. And in fact, what happens, you'll see that half of the vehicles in 2014, you'll see that half of the vehicles date from the 60s, 70s, 80s. One is a Clio campus that was made for European students, okay? A small two door car in Algeria used as a family car. You'll find the grandparents in the back, the parents in the front, the children on top, the suitcases on top of the vehicle. And so on, and that's extremely dangerous because Algeria is a big country, there are sometimes extreme weather conditions and so on. So it's a country where cars deteriorate much faster, luckily, lets say, than in Europe. And you'll find cars that have been there for 30 or 40 years that are on the road and they're basically mobile coffins. In fact, that's the Algerian road in terms of danger. I was going to make a video about this a while ago. I looked at the figures a little bit. If we were to compare Algerian roads vehicle by vehicle to those in France, it's a bit like telling you that in France there are 25,000 road deaths per year. Do you understand? In fact, there are a little less than 5 million vehicles in Algeria, I think in France, I'm saying that off the top of my head that there were 38 million vehicles. And Algerian roads kill more people than French roads. Okay? So to tell you, there's not a single family, there's not a single person who doesn't have at least one friend or relative who hasn't died in a car accident. Roads kill far more people here than terrorism did in the 90s. It's absolutely appalling. I rarely go to Algeria. I spend a week, weeks, every time. And every time during the rare times I leave the house, we arrive at the scene of a car accident with dead people on the ground and so on. It's a disaster. So in this context, Renault decided to manufacture cars in Algeria. Why cars in Algeria? Simply because if you compare cars, the same models, the same brands. Take for example, I don't know, take the Volkswagen Golf, for example. You buy it new in Algeria from the dealership and you go to Paris or London or New York and you buy the same vehicle the same year. Well, you'll see differences. You'll see that the plastic is not of the same quality, the finishes are not of the same quality, the tires are not from the same brands, and in reality, the vehicle that is manufactured for the Algerian market is a vehicle that could not have been sold elsewhere, which would not have been. Either would not have been competitive in terms of. In terms of quality on the European market, for example, or it is a vehicle that would perhaps not even have been up to European standards and which could not have been sold in Europe anyway. So Renault, what is it doing? Renault is deciding to get closer to the consumer in order to be able to manufacture vehicles that will be up to Algerian standards and therefore to go beyond French standards, European standards, and so on, and to be able to use cheaper materials and all that, and techniques that are perhaps less safe or less reliable or less robust. Secondly, to be able to benefit from a cheap local workforce. Thirdly, and here I can, if I want to say the same thing as some French people and then say something unconstructive, I can cry neo colonialism. I can say why the Algerian state is financing a French company to build a factory in Algeria. Huh? I can say that Renault should just build their own factory themselves with their own money. In fact, what is happening is that the Algerian government offers the land, I'm not saying specifically for Renault, but what is generally done when companies like this arrive. It offers them the land, it offers them VAT exemptions, tax exemptions. In fact, it makes them a tailor made package that actually saves them a fair few billion in return. These companies produce in Algeria, so they produce close to the consumer. As an Algerian, I think it's fair that a company that sells in Algeria can create jobs in Algeria, direct and indirect jobs. Because you have to know one thing. These are not jobs that are taken from French people in metropolitan France, from French people in France. They are not taken with French from France at all. Because let me explain something very simple. If the factory had not been created in Algeria, it would not have been able to produce the cars at the prices. They produce them with a quality that is there at the moment. And so they would have been forced to produce them in France and the Algerian consumer would not have come to France. The consumer from Algiers would not have been able to go to Paris to look for an equivalent car in Paris. What he would have done is simple. He would have gone to Algeria and bought a car from Hyundai Shaidev. You look at the last 10 years, there has been a massive influx of vehicles from companies in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China and all that. There are absolutely appalling brands that you have never seen, that you will never see on a European road. Extremely expensive cars, by the way. There's a Chinese car, for example. You buy it new, leave it exposed to the sun, and it starts to deform on its own after six months. It's like a couscous maker, right? And I'm not talking about controlled and uncontrolled skidding. It's like tires. It's like tires are like plastic with a kind of casing. Sometimes you brake a little. And on top of that there's no abs, no power steering, nothing at all. You barely have the glass. The safety glass shatters into 1,000 pieces in four boxes. That's all. You have nothing else. So in fact, what I see is that as I see it, I see it as a deal that was organized between the Algerian state. They're adults, they know what they're doing. Between a French company with a long history and they're adults too, they know what they're doing. Don't worry, Renault is not an orphanage. They're not going to get cheated when they sign the contract. If they signed a contract, it's because it suits them, right? It's because they knew, they know what they're doing. Ah, it's a win win situation for both. The Algerians are going to win out of this, right? They're going to gain, as I told you, they're going to gain direct and indirect jobs. They're going to have Renault vehicles manufactured to a standard maybe even lower, but still better than the vehicles from the 60s that are still on the road in the country. It will allow them to get these vehicles perhaps at a more attractive price for them, but even a more attractive price. Don't worry, it's still crazy. You know, a friend of mine bought a Golf. He paid for it for almost 24 months salary, two years salary. So in fact, if you're an executive, okay, look at what your salary is. I don't know, I'm talking nonsense. Let's imagine €40,000. Let's imagine that you earn €40,000 per year in France. Well, let's imagine that the average car, the average sedan, cost two years salary. That's €800. For that price in France, you can buy a Ferrari or a Maserati or a Lamborghini. Do you understand? In Algeria it barely brings in a Golf. And what happens is that since the new car market is so artificially inflated, you're going to end up with the used market inflated in almost the same way. That means that if you buy a car, if you don't have two years salary saved up, you might have one year's salary and you're going to bring back a crappy car that's 20 years old. It doesn't depreciate that quickly. There's a secondhand market that's holding up thanks to this anomaly in the car market. So for me, I see a win win situation, that's all. There's no comparison. Now, yes, they're closing in France and they're opening in Algeria, but no, it's not. It's. The evolution of the markets isn't the same, that's all. If there's less demand in France, they'll close in France. If there's more demand in France, they'll open in France. That's all. If there is any logic in trying to produce or sell goods, we still follow the rules of the market. We are not going to follow the rules of nationalism. We're not going to say, well, no, I'm French. Well, listen, I don't care if there's growing demand in Algeria or Africa or the Middle east and decreasing demand in France. Uh, I'm French, I'm sorry, I'm opening in France. Hey, I'm sorry, I'm opening in France. Hey, there's no market, but I'm opening anyway like that. I mean, with such management, you've sunk the company in two years. It's very simple. The French market has been screwed, as we know, by the slowdown in Europe, but they've also had problems with Iran. They've lost a large Iranian market and all that, because the Americans, you know, it's a bit like if the Americans told Renault tomorrow to leave Algeria because, I don't know, they could accuse us of something or other, and then that the next day on the same site, you'll find cheverlate, right? I mean, they're screwed. They're screwed because of French diplomacy, which has become a bit of a diplomacy. And I won't use words that offend, but, hey, we understand each other. They're not there. They're not up to it to be polite. So that's it for me. It's just a storm in a teacup and just an opportunity to get out of the unconstructive debates or unconstructive remarks about these still tense relations between Algeria and France. There you have it. So you're not losing anything. Don't worry, you're not losing anything. We're not eating your bread. The Algerians are going to win something, you're going to win something and that's it. It's just a commercial deal. There's no such thing as war. Ah, yes. To finish, I wanted to ask a question. I know that I have a lot of Christians who watch my videos. Well, I have a lot of people who watch. And I wanted to ask, do you have this mentality of saying that so and so is not a Christian or so and so is not a Christian? Do you have this tendency towards tackfireism? Who in Christianity says that so and so is a Christian and so and so is not? That's it. I just wanted to know a little bit because I know of a religion that is widely practiced where I come from. And indeed, my question is, if. Yes, I want me to rephrase it is, does Christianity belong to God, or does it belong to man? In fact, is belonging validated by the divine, or is it validated by any human you meet on the street? Actually, can any human decide whether or not you are a Christian? It's just a question. There you go. I wish you all the best and I'll come back another day.