On another occasion Ghosn blocked development of the next-generation Renault Twingo subcompact after some staff expressed doubts that the car could meet its sales targets.

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It will share its architecture with the Renault Twingo.

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The delay was costly, creating a hiccup in Renault's product pipeline, but the Twingo, which goes on sale next year, will be stronger as a result, Blain says.

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The first, shown off this week in Portugal, was to be called the Gingo, until Renault objected that this was too close to the name of its Twingo model.

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