Renault and Nissan, on Monday, announced to invest $600 million in its Indian Technology & Business Centre in Chennai to support the new projects which includes Research and Development (R&D) and creating up to 2,000 additional new jobs. The company aims to introduce electric vehicles in the Indian market soon to transition to carbon-neutral manufacturing in the country.

Guillaume Cartier, Chairperson for Nissan’s Africa, Middle-East, India, Europe and Oceania region, in a statement, said, "India was the first Alliance plant and India will be at the centre of this new chapter of the Alliance, with new vehicles, new R&D activities and new export markets taking our joint operations to the next level.”

Renault and Nissan also announced collaboration on six new production vehicles for domestic and international customers, including two new fully electric vehicles, uplifting the Renault-Nissan centre into an international export hub.

The company revealed that this investment will also help its Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre in Chennai to become carbon-neutral with a significant increase in renewable energy generation.

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Renault and Nissan’s new launches

The company’s six new models will comprise three for each company, engineered and built in Chennai. They will be built on common Alliance platforms while retaining the individual, distinctive styling of the respective brands.

They will include four new C-segment SUVs and two new A-segment electric vehicles, the first EVs for both Renault and Nissan in India.

Renault and Nissan’s international export hub in Chennai

Apart from the Indian customers, these new models will also be used to increase exports from India, boosting plant utilisation to 80 percent and securing many thousands of jobs at its Chennai plant.

Moreover, additional production will also help increase R&D and associated activities at the Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India, which is expected to create up to 2,000 new jobs at the site near Chennai.

Ashwani Gupta, company’s global COO, tells CNBC-TV18 that Renault-Nissan would like to establish a full supply chain for electric vehicles in India to have a competitive cost of ownership.

Roadmap to carbon-neutral vehicle manufacturing

The RNAIPL plant is announcing its roadmap to carbon neutrality and aims to transition to 100 percent renewable energy while reducing energy consumption at the plant by 50 percent by 2045.

The company said that its Chennai plant already sources over 50 percent of its electricity from renewables, including solar, biomass and wind. The existing solar plant will become more than six times bigger, expanding to a 14MW plant from the current 2.2MW.

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First Published:Feb 13, 2023 11:57 AM IST