Renault-Nissan Oragadam plant to open today

The Rs 4500-crore Renault-Nissan alliance plant, the first industrial partnership involving a French and a Japanese company, which is to be inaugurated by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi at the SIPCOT Industrial Park in Oragadam in Kancheepuram on March 17, will form a major milestone in the commercial joint venture promoted by the car majors in the Indian soil.

Echoing the above view at a media gathering here on Tuesday, Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO, Renault- Nissan Alliance, said that the Oragadam facility would roll out 200,000 cars by 2012 and 400,000 cars by 2015, mostly tailored for Indian needs.

He also said that the segmentation of the Indian market could allow the company to keep the policy of strict pricing intact, thereby allowing the competition alive in the B plus segment in the country.

Carlos further said that 50 per cent of the cars from the Oragadam facility would be for exports, only after meeting the demands from the domestic market.

Stating that a lot of products from the Renault-Nissan stable would be in the pipeline, he said that three new products would be assembled in the Oragadam facility in the first instance though producing affordable cars would happen in a phased manner.

“We sold 6 million cars in 2009 and we want to be a full fledged player in the market,’’ Carlos said and added that his company was in talks with auto majors like Mahindra and Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Bajaj Auto for manufacturing utility vehicles in the near future.

The mass production in the Oragadam facility would take place in May this year and the first shipment of cars three months later, he remarked.

Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd CEO and MD Akira Sakurai said the plant will start mass production of latest compact car Micra from May. “We will produce 80,000 units in the first year. These will be for both domestic and export markets,” Sakurai said.

Nissan will export Micra to over 100 countries, including Europe, Middle- East and Africa, by later half of 2010. Micra will also be produced from Thailand, Mexico and China.

“In India, our rival will be Maruti’s Swift, Hyundai’s i10 and i20. We will launch Micra wi t h 1 . 2 litre petrol engine.”

Source: http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Renault-Nissan+Oragadam+plant+to+open+today&artid=qYa2ju5PgnE=&SectionID=XT7e3Zkr/lw=&MainSectionID=XT7e3Zkr/lw=&SectionName=HFdYSiSIflu29kcfsoAfeg==&SEO=