Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt. Ltd., (RNAIPL) is planning to expand its product portfolio with the roll out of four new models from its Oragadam plant in the near future, said top company officials.
“It will be two C-segment Sport Utility Vehicle of five seater and seven seater developed parallelly for Renault and Nissan on the existing CMF-B platform with high level of localisation,” Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo told reporters.
Wednesday happened to be the alliance’s 25th anniversary in India. It was marked by the short visit of Renault Alliance Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard along with Nissan Motor President & CEO Makoto Uchida and Mr. Meo.
Asserting that it was his first visit to India, Mr. Senard said that India will continue to play a major role in the alliance. The alliance has invested $1.8 billion so far and recently it announced a further investment of $600-700 million.
“India is at the heart of the alliance and Tamil Nadu is chosen for its dynamism and the potential it offers. India has proved to be a crucial market for us,” he said.
RNAIPL is a joint venture between Japan-based Nissan and France-headquartered Renault. Currently, the alliance retails five products in India with three under the Renault brand name (Kwid, Triber and Kiger) and two under Nissan badge (Sunny and Magnite).
The Oragadam plant produces 2.7 million cars per annum, of which 1.2 million units are shipped to over 100 countries. The cars have an indigenisation level of over 90%. The plant operates in two shifts and produces 480 cars per day.
“The alliance remains committed to India. India will become a hub for exports,” said Mr. Uchida.
