Revoz CEO Patrice Haettel said at a press conference that orders have remained stable last year, which is important news for the company. He added that Revoz plans to further increase output in 2016 by focussing on new markets, especially China. The car manufacturer also plans to introduce new variants of the smart brabus, smart EV and twingo GT models.

Revoz will maintain production through two shifts. Furthermore, it plans to increase production by 10 percent, meaning there will be no layoffs. The company will also introduce Saturday shifts to keep up with demand. If needed, more employees will be hired. In general, new employees will just replace those planning to retire, Haettel said.

Ready for the Chinese market
Revoz produced a total of 129,400 vehicles in 2015, and the company's investments totalled 14 million euros. 43 percent of all twingos produced in Novo mesto were sold in France, followed by Germany (almost one quarter), Italy (11 percent), the UK (6 percent), and the Netherlands (4 percent). In 2015, only 0.3 percent of the company’s products were sold in Slovenia.

In January 2015, Revoz also started exporting smarts to China. The company plans to expand sales in the country, and its goal is to sell 4 to 5 percent of its cars in China, Haettel said.

He stressed that cars manufactured at the Revoz plant were not affected by the recent emissions scandal, as they do not run on diesel engines. Haettel said Renault, the parent company of Revoz, confirmed that its vehicles are not fitted with rigged emissions devices. After the company was linked to the emissions scandal, Renault said it would reduce the emission output levels of its cars. Renault earmarked 50 million euros to resolve the issue.

Haettel also said that he supports the “third development axis” project – an expressway linking the south and the north of Slovenia.

A. Č.; translated by D. V.