Renault, Nissan lay foundation for new plant in India

06 June 2008

Chennai: Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Limited (RNAIPL), a Rs4,500-crore equal joint venture firm between Renault and Nissan, today inaugurated its new passenger vehicle plant in Chennai with a ground breaking ceremony. Scheduled to begin operations in 2010, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 and will produce vehicles for export and the local market for both Renault and Nissan.

''This is an important day in Chennai for Renault, Nissan, our local employees and the community,'' said Shohei Kimura, managing director of RNAIPL. ''The new project is a very tangible result of the strength and success of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, and is a clear indicator of RNAIPL's long-term strategy for this important market.''

Renault plans to produce several cars on the Logan platform and on other platforms as well. Building on the success of Logan, Renault is currently developing a product range to best match Indian customers' needs, tastes and dreams.Nissan will produce a family of models based on its new A-platform, including the next generation of Micra. India is one of the five leading competitive countries (LCCs) to produce the new A-platform models.

The development of a competitive A-platform is one of several business breakthroughs announced as part of Nissan GT 2012, the company's new five-year business plan.

Renault has a 49:51 joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra for the production of the Mahindra-Renault Logan in Nashik and its distribution via the Mahindra network. Sales of Logan in India have totalled around 29,000 units since it was introduced in May 2007.

Logan has been voted number one in its segment in India for quality and attractiveness according to six different customer surveys. Renault also has a satellite design centre in Mumbai called Renault Design India, the first local design operation of a Western auto manufacturer in India.