Nissan, Renault to Invest $600 Million to Make Six New Models, Including Two EVs, in India

The Japanese and French automakers will work on the projects from their base in Chennai, turning it into an export hub, they said in a statement.

By Reuters | Updated: 13 February 2023 13:44 IST

Photo Credit: Reuters

The new models will include four sports utility vehicles (SUVs)

Highlights

The models will be first EVs to be rolled out by the automakers in India
The automakers last week unveiled details of their redesigned alliance
India is the world's fastest-growing car market

Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA said on Monday they would invest $600 million to make six new models in India, one of three markets in which the two automakers plan to coordinate closely in a revamped alliance announced last week.

The move will help address falling market shares for the Japanese and French companies in a market with rising global importance.

"This investment is very significant not only on products but on technologies like EVs to really capture the growing Indian market, which is the third-largest market in the world, and also to use India as a base for export," Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta told reporters.

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The two companies said in a statement that each would make three new models in India, all built on joint platforms - components and engineering that can be shared between designs.

Two models would be electric vehicles (EVs), the companies' first in India; the others would be sports utility vehicles.

All will be made at the underemployed car plant that the companies jointly own at Chennai, in southern India. They have a research and development centre there, too.

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Under a new structure for their two-decade-old global alliance announced on February 6, Nissan and Renault will also cooperate closely in Latin America and Europe.

The two companies together had around 3 percent of the Indian market in 2022. Unlike Nissan, Renault does not have a significant presence China, the United States and Japan, raising the stakes for its success in India.

Industry-wide sales in India surged 23 percent last year to 4.4 million vehicles, overtaking the Japanese market, according to S&P Global Mobility.

The Chennai plant can produce about 500,000 vehicles a year, but last year Renault sold only 87,000 in India and Nissan 35,000.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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