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ShareNew Delhi: Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn (pictured) will make an announcement about the ultra-low-cost (ULC) car project on Tuesday, Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj was heard telling some journalists at the India Economic Summit on Monday evening.
Bajaj had just emerged from an hour-long meeting with Ghosn and is unlikely to be present on Tuesday, if at all Ghosn makes a statement regarding the future of the joint venture project.
The ULC car project has been facing a delay because of serious differences between the partners over a range of issues such as cost, desired fuel efficiency and even design aspects of the proposed vehicle.
So, will Ghosn announce a change in the contours of this three-way JV, where the proposed equity shareholding initially was 50% by Bajaj, with the remaining split between Renault and Nissan? Or will any announcement over the troubled partnership be postponed till either partner has something positive to share? Remains to be seen.
As of now, no prototype of the proposed ULC vehicle has been finalised, even though Ghosn has reiterated his belief in the workability of this project and in India's prowess as a centre for frugal engineering.
On the pricing of this vehicle, Ghosn said he wasn't stuck on the $2,500 point. This project was initially slated for 2011 launch but that deadline could well be missed.
Meanwhile, Ghosn said on Tuesday that the entire range of products through the Renault-Nissan alliance will be made available in India in time. The two sister companies will share engines and platforms in India, he said, adding, Renault expects sales volumes to treble over the next 10 years.
"Renault is not in India to sell one specific product. Renault will have many more products in India and it is going to be one of the most important markets," he said. Renault and Nissan are building a manufacturing plant in Chennai, which is slated to start production in 2010.
