Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co yesterday unveiled their first joint project since announcing a revamp of their automaking alliance last week.
The pair is to invest US$600 million in India to expand their vehicle lineup, add jobs and decarbonize a manufacturing plant in Chennai, the companies said in a joint statement.
The initiative is a key element of the operational projects unveiled by the auto manufacturers last week in London. As part of the agreement, Renault is to reduce its stake in Nissan over time to 15 percent from 43 percent, to equalize their cross-ownership, and Nissan plans to invest in Renault’s electric-vehicle unit that is being carved out of the French automaker.
Photo: Bloomberg
The two are to produce six new vehicles in the South Asian nation — including two electric cars — for domestic and international customers. The investment would add as many as 2,000 jobs at the Renault Nissan Technology and Business Center in Chennai, the companies said, and make the factory there carbon neutral by 2045.
“To capture the growth potential, we want to utilize the alliance assets, especially in India,” Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said in a Bloomberg Television interview ahead of a ceremony to announce Renault and Nissan’s future operations in India.
The six new models include three from each company, all engineered and built on common platforms in Chennai. They include four sports utility vehicles and two electric vehicles.
“The new models will not only be aimed at Indian customers, but will also signal a significant increase in exports from India,” the companies said in a release.
The Financial Times reported on Sunday that Nissan aims to increase car sales in Europe and make the region one of its four core markets.”
The automaker will raise Europe to the same level of importance as Japan, China and the US after gaining market share in the region in recent years, Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said in the interview.
Nissan had cut back on investments in Europe, but is to reverse earlier plans to reduce its range of models in the region, the report said.
Among the two companies’ new collaboration projects, Nissan plans to introduce an entry-level electric vehicle model for sale in Europe, and will increase the portion of hybrids and electric vehicles in its Europe vehicle lineup to 98 percent by 2026 — a boost from the previously announced 60 percent, Gupta told the Financial Times.
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