Renault is planning to develop, in cooperation with its dealer network, a specialized activity for multi-make used vehicles under five years old. Its deployment and coordination will be handled by a subsidiary, Carévia, which will also be in charge of Renault's policy in terms of used vehicles. These special used vehicle centres, which will bear the Carévia name, will be complementary to the Renault Occasions (used car) name which is an integral part of dealerships and specialized in the sale of more recent used vehicles of the Renault marque.

Renault created a subsidiary, Carévia, in July 1998 to boost its used vehicle activity and develop, in cooperation with its dealer network, new distribution channels for used vehicles from 2000 onwards.

Renault therefore devised a new concept for used vehicle centres which applies the same principles as major retailers. This supermarket-type concept (exhibiting 150 to 250 used vehicles) is designed to offer, under the brand name Carévia, a wide choice of multi-make products under five years old in specially designed sites. The Carévia centres will thus complement Renault Occasions, which is located in dealerships and specialized in the sale of recent Renault used vehicles.

These new sites will be developed initially by Renault subsidiaries and branch offices, Renault France Automobiles locations in France and the company's sales subsidiaries throughout Europe. They will then be proposed to dealers who want to invest in this new business venture.

In this way, Renault wishes to offer its network of dealers and branch offices new marketing opportunities in the area of used vehicles and provide it with additional sources of revenue and profit. As the Carévia centres target buyers from other makes and concern to a certain extent older vehicles, they will be a plus for customers of Renault used vehicles.

With its Carévia centres, Renault is seeking to position itself in the new distribution channels for used vehicles which have been widely developed in the United States and which are beginning to be set up in a number of European countries, notably the United Kingdom and Spain.

Over and above its task of developing the Carévia and Renault Occasions names as complementary activities, the Carévia subsidiary will also be responsible for defining, implementing and ensuring the coherence of Renault's used-vehicle policy throughout Europe.