Renault-Nissan’s new factory in Chennai will be open within the next five months, Carlos Ghosn said at the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit on Sunday.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
He said that the first phase of the plant will be completed before the end of the first quarter of 2010.
“However, we have currently suspended the second phase – not because we do not believe in the potential of India’s market or the capacity of exports from India, but until we see where this decline in the global automotive market is ending,” said Mr Ghosn.
The Chennai plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 400,000 cars. Nissan is set to produce the new Micra as a global car in Chennai starting in May, 2010 although Alliance partner Renault has put its production plans for the plant on hold.
Nevertheless, Mr Ghosn said that he expects the Indian market to grow from 2m annual sales to around 6m over the next 10 years and for exports of Indian-built vehicles to also grow. “The whole auto industry is down globally, but India’s exports have been increasing, which is a good sign,” he said.
Mr Ghosn also said that talks were on-going with partner Mahindra & Mahindra on bringing new products and re-designing the Logan for the Indian market. Logan sales have declined an annual 69% during the April-September period to 2,901 vehicles.
Renault-Nissan also has a joint venture with Bajaj Auto to develop a low-cost car and Mr Ghosn said that the partners are “not stuck to the $2,500 price tag” – a reference to the cost of Tata’s Nano.
“The $2,500-car is very important for the Indian market. The price may end up being $2,500 or $2,800 or $3,000. We are not stuck up with that,” said Mr Ghosn.
