New Delhi, May 15

Renault’s series of engagements in the domestic market has led to its discussions for an alliance with Bajaj Auto for the light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment remaining at a nascent stage. Renault-Nissan along with Bajaj on Monday announced plans to launch a car that would compete with Tata’s Nano. Besides, Renault-Nissan is also setting up a facility in Tamil Nadu to produce passenger cars.

While Bajaj Auto has indicated that it was open to an alliance with Renault for the LCV business, it said the discussions were at an early stage and a many issues needed to be addressed.

“The discussions are at an early stage as the main focus has always been the car. However, we are looking at various synergies in terms of products and the volumes that we could have in those segments,” said Mr R. C. Maheswari, Commercial Vehicles Business Head at Bajaj Auto.

Renault said that the task of launching a car with Bajaj required lot of effort along with its expansion with Nissan to produce cars in Chennai. This also could be the reason for the slower pace in discussions. “We have not really discussed the intricacies for the LCV business unlike in the case of the car. A lot of effort is being put on the engineering front for the low-cost car which is entirely a deviation for our company. There are lot of activities happening around our upcoming facility in Tamil Nadu,” said a Renault spokesperson.

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