Mumbai, Sept. 24

French carmaker Renault with its joint venture partner Nissan is looking to recruiting 5,000 people in India in three years, said Mr Sylvain Bilaine, Managing Director, Renault India.

“Our current manpower is just below 850. We have recently recruited around 50 people at senior level at our plant in Chennai. We will start production with 1000 people,” he said.

Renault-Nissan’s Rs 4,500-crore car plant with the annual capacity of 4 lakh will be commissioned in the first half of 2010.

Talking to the reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of Renault Design India studio in Mumbai, Mr Bilaine said that Nissan’s auto component sourcing from India is close to € 200 million now. Earlier the company had set a target of sourcing components worth € 100 million but revised it due to the cost advantage in the context rising input cost across the globe. “We have a lot of pressure to get more (components) from India. We are negotiating very good deals, especially with casting and forging companies,” he said. Currently Renault has 55 suppliers.

“We have a logistics platform in Pune. We are now making shipment mostly to our facilities in South Africa, Turkey and Korea,” he said. About the cost advantage of sourcing from India, Mr Bilaine said the price difference helps company achieve net benefit of 15 percent.

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