Local production by Renault will begin in the first half of 2016 at its joint venture with Dongfeng, with the first model to be an all-new SUV, a top company executive said on April 20.

The Sino-French joint venture Dongfeng Renault Automobile Co was established at the end of 2013.

"The first product will not be any model that Renault produced before," said Jacques Daniel, president of Dongfeng Renault, adding that "it will be a Chinese car for sure, as more than 85 percent of the components will be made in China".