RENAULT has been forced to scrap its ground-breaking Avantime because of low sales. Matra, the firm which builds Avantime on Renault's behalf, said demand for the car was too low and that sales were not large enough to guarantee the long-term future of the company.

As a result it has decided to pull out of car production and it is not financially viable to move Avantime production to a new site. Matra's difficulties were compounded because it no longer produces the Espace range, production of which has been taken in-house by Renault. Matra produced three generations of the MPV.

Customers with Matra-produced Espaces and Avantimes have been reassured by Renault that warranties and aftersales service will be honoured throughout the lifetime of the vehicles.

Currently there is no date for stopping production of the Avantime, so there are no predictions when stock will run out in the UK.

A senior figure at Renault UK had already signalled sales were struggling. He said: 'The car was designed for the retired French former Espace owner in his 50s who wanted something unique. The problem is that this man never existed in the UK.'