Press Trust of India / Chennai Mar 17, 2010, 14:19 IST
The Franco-Japanese auto alliance Renault-Nissan today inaugurated its manufacturing plant here in which the two partners will together be investing Rs 4,500 crore to produce four lakh units by 2015.
"The all-new plant in Chennai is an intangible symbol of out growth strategy in India. The plant will play a very important role in our global alliance," Renault-Nissan alliance chief Carlos Ghosn told reporters here.
The alliance has made an initial investment of Rs 2,900 crore with a capacity of 200,000 units annually that can be scaled up to 400,000 units. It has already started trial production at the plant and will be rolling out the latest generation compact car Micra from the Nissan stable, which will be available in the India by July this year.
Ghosn said the plant will play an important role in the global strategy of the alliance. "This (plant) will be one of the four major export hubs for a few global models, the first of which will be the Micra."
The Micra will be produced in five countries --Thailand, India, China and Mexico. The fifth location is yet to be decided. It will be exported to over 100 countries.
Ghosn said the plant underlines the significance of the alliance's vision for the future in terms of emission norms, quality and expansion in emerging markets.
"This plant is a milestone for the alliance," he said.
Speaking on the occasion Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister and Industry Minister M K Stalin said, "With the establishment of plant, Chennai's position in the Indian automotive sector has strengthened further."
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