Renault Nissan project starts : Micra and Murano might come soon

Nissan-Renault Automotive India today started construction of its Rs 4,500-crore passenger car plant in Chennai and that it shall move its manufacturing operations for its small car, Micra to India from Sunderland, UK by the year 2010. Nissan-Renault is shifting the Micra production as they need to take care of the volumes and pricing of the car. This is one of their largest selling models. Nissan also plans to bring its cross-over SUV Murano to India next year. Nissan shall use ‘A’ segment platform for more small cars after using it for Micra which would be atleast three other models.

Nissan-Renault is a 50:50 joint venture between Nissan and Renault to manufacture passenger cars in India. The company has a minimum investment plan of Rs 4,500 crore. Last month, the Nissan-Renault alliance entered into a joint venture with two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto to develop, produce and market a low-cost car priced at $2,500 by 2011. While Suzuki has a 50 per cent share of the market, Renault and Nissan have lagged behind rivals in expanding their footprint in India. Renault has a 2.2 per cent share. Other automobile manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford Motor and Volkswagen have announced a combined investment of $6 billion for India, where car sales are expected to double by 2013.