Renault to up India presence, share engines with Nissan
Published on Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 07:54 | Source : NewsWire18
Updated at Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 12:21
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Renault to up India presence, share engines with Nissan
French carmaker Renault plans to expand its product portfolio in India and tie up with group company Nissan for sharing engines and platforms in the country, Carlos Ghosn, head of the Renault and Nissan alliance said.
French carmaker Renault plans to expand its product portfolio in India and tie up with group company Nissan for sharing engines and platforms in the country, Carlos Ghosn, head of the Renault and Nissan alliance said. He said Renault had plans to expand its India operations a big way, as it expected sale volumes to treble over the next 10 years. "Renault is not in India to sell one specific product. Renault will have muchmore products in India and it is going to be one of the most important markets," Ghosn told reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit organised by the World Economic Forum. Renault and Nissan are building a manufacturing plant in Chennai, which is slated to start production in 2010.
"The Chennai plant is on track." Renault already jointly manufactures the entry-level sedan Logan in India with Mahindra & Mahindra and is also exploring the possibility of making a low-cost car in alliance with Bajaj Auto to compete with Tata Motors ' 100,000-rupee Nano. Nissan has a tie-up with Ashok Leyland to manufacture and sell light commercial vehicles. Ghosn's alliances in India have been fraught with a number of issues, including those over branding and pricing, and have not exactly taken off on expected lines. Sales of Logan have slipped drastically in recent times, while there is little progress on the low-cost car project with Bajaj Auto. There has also been a substantial reduction in the original investment plan for the light commercial vehicle venture with Ashok Leyland . Asked whether he had any plans of altering current alliances in India, Ghosn only said, "We are very happy with our India presence." Ghosn said he will meet all his Indian partners during his current visit. "We started with Logan with Mahindra & Mahindra to learn about the Indian market and to see what products are best for the country. It is a constant learning and correction process with our partners."
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