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| India Eco Summit: Bajaj, Renault-Nissan finalise venture |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Nov 10, 2009, 12:57 IST |
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Ending months of uncertainty over their joint project to make an ultra-low-cost car, Bajaj Auto and Renault-Nissan have signed an agreement delineating their roles and fixing 2012 as the year when the car will hit the market.
At an impromptu press conference at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi, Carlos Ghosn, the head of Renault-Nissan, said Bajaj would handle the design, manufacturing and sourcing for the car; Renault-Nissan would look after marketing in India and overseas. “It is much better that we take leadership in marketing and selling of products,” he said.
Interestingly, while most of the talk around small cars since Nano has been about the cost and price, Ghosn has started a buzz around the running cost of the car. “It will be an innovative product,” he said. “The product will be competitive on cost and fuel efficiency. The consumption of oil will be substantially low. It will address both the cost and the running cost.”
Bajaj and Renault-Nissan had announced the formation of a joint venture in May 2008 to develop, produce and market a car code-named ULC.
“Our partnership will continue and we will have a clear definition of who does what. We have no illusion. Our strategy in India is not short-term, but long-term. Renault-Nissan has a 10 per cent share (of the car market) globally. We cannot accept a situation in India where we are just about 1 per cent. We have to adapt to India,” said Ghosn.
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