The French government, which owns 15% of Renault SA, has requested and will get a seat on the company’s strategic committee, which sets Renault’s industrial policy. The government already has two representatives on the company’s non-executive board.

The move is intended to help France monitor decisions that affect Renault employment in France.

The appointment is the latest development in the government’s reaction to reports last week that Renault might shift production of the next-generation Clio 4 from France to Turkey. The news brought sharp criticism from French President Nicolas Sarkozy. In a meeting with Sarkozy on Saturday, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn agreed to produce the Clio in both countries and pledged to make as many Clios in France as are sold there.

Last year, Renault built 330,000 Clios and sold 146,000 in France. The fourth-generation Clio debuts in 2013. Renault has announced plans to halt current Clio production in Slovenia and Spain, leaving Bursa, Turkey, and Flins, France, as the only remaining Clio plants.

Adam Opel GmbH President Nick Reilly says the company’s goals are to cut bureaucracy, expand its model lineup and increase exports.

Reilly tells employees that Vauxhall will remain a U.K. brand, with the Opel representing the company in all other markets. He acknowledges that the company needs a minicar, a replacement for the Combo and a range of electric and hybrid vehicles. He describes Opel’s existing powertrains as delivering “mixed performance” in driveability, fuel efficiency and CO₂ emissions.

Reilly also cautions employees not to blame GM for Opel’s woes, describing that attitude as a “weak victim mentality.” He acknowledges that GM did not sufficiently respect local and regional needs, but he also reminds employees that Opel has been “kept alive during this long period of losses by financial support from Detroit.”

He says he will help Opel reduce bureaucracy, make decisions quicker and push authority for spending decisions to lower levels of the organization. He says he wants to cut the time spent in meetings and preparing reports by 50%.

Reilly’s report to employees comes at a time when he is trying to win union support for a turnaround plan that will eliminate 8,300 jobs. Last year the union rejected the plan, which would have saved Opel €265 million per year. Opel also is trying to raise €3.3 billion, including €650 already advanced by owner General Motors Co. Opel hopes to obtain the balance in the form of government loan guarantees s from European countries that host Opel/Vauxhall plants.

Inflation in the eurozone rose to an annualized 0.9% in December from 0.5% in November, says Eurostat. The inflation rate, which averaged 0.3% last year, was 1.9% in December 2008.

The EU’s statistics agency says half of December’s increase was caused by rising oil prices. It says car prices, which declined by 0.1%, had the biggest downward impact.

Eurostat says inflation throughout the EU was 1.4% in December, compared to 2.2% a year earlier and 1% in November 2009.

Mazda, Ford and Chongqing Changan Automobile acknowledge their three-way venture plans to reassign production in China. But they deny media reports that the venture will be dissolved in 2012.

Changan owns 50% of the current partnership, with Ford owning 35% and Mazda 15%. The company operates plants in Chongqing and Nanjing, with about 70% of its 320,000 units of combined output in the form of Ford brand vehicles.

Media reports suggested the venture would be replaced by separate 50:50 Changan-Ford and Changan-Mazda partnerships, with the Ford alliance operating the Chongqing plant and the Mazda venture taking over the Nanjing facility.

Mazda confirms it will move production of its Mazda3 sedan from Chongqing to Nanjing this summer. Nanjing already makes the Mazda2 small car. But the company tells Agence France Presse that the realignment is intended only to let Ford have more production in Chongqing. Changan tells Reuters the three partners have never discussed a breakup.

The current three-way partnership produces the Mazda 2 and Mazda 3; the Ford Focus, Fiesta, Mondeo and S-MAX; and the Volvo S40 and S80 sedans.

France, citing an “improved international environment and demand for French products,” has nearly doubled its forecast of economic growth this year to 1.4% from 0.75%.

Last year France’s gross domestic product contracted by 2.25%. But Economy Minister Christine Lagarde says France’s economy improved at the end of 2009 and the outlook has “brightened.”

Italy also expects its economy to expand this year, reversing shrinkage of 1% in 2008 and 5% last year. Italy’s central bank expects Italy’s GDP to expand by 0.7% in 2010. A more optimistic Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti tells Il Sole 24 Ore that growth will be “1% or a little more.”

The Bundesbank predicts Germany’s economy will expand by 1.6% after an estimated decline of 4.9% in 2009. But the central bank warns that the German economy is hobbled by weak consumer demand and says the end of the country’s aggressive car scrappage program last September will hurt the country’s recovery. VDIK, the German carmaker group, forecasts that the domestic market will shrink to 2.8 million vehicles this year from 3.8 million in 2009.

Marek Belka, chief of the International Monetary Fund European department, says the region is “no longer at the edge of the abyss, but it is less clear that we have reached safe ground.”

Kia Motors Corp.’s union has stopped overtime production and begun 4-6-hour daily strikes to push for bigger bonus payments. The walkouts, which began 20 years ago, have become a standard part of annual labor negotiations at Kia, notes The Korea Herald.

Kia has already calculated that the 12 mini-strikes held since the last labor contract will cost the company 65 hours of production and 1 billion won (€618,000).

This year the union wants a bonus equal to 300% of monthly wage, plus 5 million won (about €3,100) in other benefits to match the compensation paid to workers at Kia’s owner, Hyundai Motor Co. The company has agreed to the bonus but offers to pay 4.6 million won (about €2,800) in other benefits.

Kia claims it can’t pay as much because its profits are smaller than Hyundai’s. The Korean Herald cites an estimate by KTB Securities that Hyundai’s operating profit last year was €1.3 billion compared to €679 million for Kia.

Last month Hyundai’s union settled without a strike for the first time in 15 years, agreeing to a wage freeze, 300% bonus and 40 shares of Hyundai stock. The Hyundai shares and 1 million won in payments were made as a reward to workers for not striking during negotiations.

Smart USA Distributor LLC says it has begun leasing Smart city cars in the U.S. for the first time. The program expires at the end of February.

The distributor is offering three-year leases for an initial payment of about $1,600 (€1,110) and monthly payments of $169 (€117). Daimler Financial Services is financing the program.

Smart USA is a subsidiary of the Penske Automotive Group, which has exclusive rights to sell Smart cars in the U.S. First-year sales in 2008 were 24,600, exceeding Penske’s expectations. But demand in the U.S. slumped 41% to 14,600 units last year compared to a worldwide drop of 13% to 117,000 units.

On 4 January, Penske replaced Smart USA President David Schembri with Jill Lajdziak, formerly head of General Motors Co.’s soon-to-be defunct Saturn brand.