French major Renault SA has begun to alter its India strategy, keeping pace with changing market realities and also the different partnerships it has forged in India.
Plans for X90 Logan-based 7-seater vehicle shelved
NEW DELHI: French major Renault SA has begun to alter its India strategy, keeping pace with changing market realities and also the different partnerships it has forged in India.
Renault has a 49:51 joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra, besides being part of a three-way partnership with sister company Nissan and Bajaj Auto for manufacturing the ultra low cost car.
It has also held talks with Bajaj for a separate low-cost vehicle foray in India. The contours of each of these partnerships are being changed.
To begin with, Renault has decided to shelve plans to bring a seven-seater vehicle, based on the X90 Logan platform, under the joint venture company Mahindra Renault India.
This means the venture would be restricted to just one product —- the Logan —-unless more products are brought under its ambit at a later date.
Renault India managing director Sylvain Bilaine said the two companies are talking on a distribution and joint badging pact for future Renault products (which would be manufactured at Chennai), but nothing has been decided as yet.
The decision to restrict the venture to only Logan follows less-than-expected sales performance by the car, which has failed to meet its first year sales targets.
On the low-cost car front, Bilaine said the avowed price tag of $2,500-3,000 would be very difficult to maintain in the current global meltdown scenario.
“We are in the middle of a financial crunch. The rupee has plummeted and the inflation is also very high. It (to maintain the price point) is very challenging. We are still working on the principles of $2,500.”
The low-cost car project is initially only for the Indian market, slated for launch in 2011 and eventually 3 lakh units of the car would be manufactured per year.
Bilaine said that though the design and powertrain for the low-cost car was frozen in September, the design is completely new and different from the one showcased by Bajaj ahead of the Auto Expo in January.
He said the car would initially be launched in the domestic market only and sold in other emerging markets only later.
In a separate decision, Renault has also decided to put a proposed joint venture with Bajaj for entering the light commercial vehicle market here in cold storage.
“We are a prominent market player in Europe with our three products in low-cost vehicle portfolio — Kangoo, Trafic and Master. But these products are very different from Indian conditions,” Bilaine said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}