Renault may invest Rs 3,000 crore to back new launches in India
MUMBAI: Renault recently infused Rs 500 crore into the Indian subsidiary
and is considering investing another Rs 2,500-3,000 crore over the next four
years to support a major product push that the French carmaker has planned for this growing
automotive market.
Renault India Pvt Ltd
allotted 50 crore shares valuing Rs 10 each to Renault Group BV a few months
ago, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies. It was the second
recent investment in the Indian unit, after a Rs 1,100 crore equity infusion in
December 2015.
Encouraged by the success of the Kwid small car,
Renault is working out an aggressive product strategy for India. It plans to
introduce one new product every year and bring SUVs, MPVs, crossovers and
sedans priced under Rs 8 lakh to challenge the market dominance of Maruti Suzuki BSE 1.10 % and Hyundai Motor India. A large part of the
planned investment will be in products and R&D resources, as manufacturing
capacity is already in place.
"The sense of confidence in India is very high,"
said a person with knowledge of the company's plans. "The brand's presence
in the top three global markets — China, US
and Japan — is fairly modest. Now it has got a headstart in India, which is set
to become the third largest market in the world in the coming decade. With a
CMF-A platform, there are lot more segments the brand plans to address in
coming years."
CMF-A is a modular platform that can be easily
tweaked to suit products in different segments. That will suit its India plans.
Renault is seeking to bridge the gap between the Kwid and the Duster SUV with more
B-segment cars in the sub-Rs 8 lakh market, as well as drive in a more premium SUV — internally codenamed HHA, it is likely to be launched
during the festive season of next year and take on models such as the Mahindra
XUV 500. At Renault, the message to the Indian team is clear, "think
big", Bernard Cambier, the company's chairman for the Africa-Middle
East-India Region, said during a recent interaction with Indian media.
"I am fighting for investments and more
models. We have a big engineering centre, robust purchasing department, the aim
is to work towards more 100 per cent localised Indian models. Clearly the
longterm ambition is to be in the top 3 — the podium — if not, then you are not
a serious challenger," Cambier said, while declining to divulge specific
information on products or investments.
Source : Renault may invest Rs 3,000 crore to back new
launches in India