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Renault eyes bigger Indian presence
BY OUR AUTO CORRESPONDENT
November 28, 2006
With the Asian car mart on the boom track, manufacturers are increasingly pondering production bases in
India. Going by what Renault president and chief executive Carlos Gohsn was quoted as saying, “You
cannot compete in India without producing in India,” India is turning hotter by the day.
With the car mart here vrooming ahead at a 0 per cent annual rate, Renault might include India in
production agenda. As a first step, the French car major has inked a joint venture agreement with
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) for its second joint venture in India.
Come year 2009, and Renault hopes to make and sell an additional eight lakh cars annually. Significantly,
India is seen as contributing heavily to this plan. The first JV pact with Mahindra and Mahindra was to
produce the mid-sized sedan Logan. Positioned just above the Hyundai Santro and the Maruti Suzuki Alto,
the Logan will roll out by second quarter of year 2007.
The French major’s second joint venture with Mahindra and Mahindra is for setting up of a greenfield plant,
which will have the capacity to manufacture five lakh units of Logan and six Logan derivatives aimed at the
Indian roads. The Renault Design India has been set up in Mumbai and the company is closely following
the trends and pulse here.
Meanwhile, Mahindra and Mahindra has termed the partnership as outstanding The two mega players
have come together with the plan of leveraging each other's strengths and is expected to prove successful
globally.
The French auto maker is also mulling over rolling out a premium small car. However as the Indian small
car market is price competitive, the company is expected to work out a cost-effective way in this regard, said
reports quoting company officials.
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