Aiming to increase capacity utilization, Renault-Nissan has set a target to produce around 350,000 units per annum by 2026
As part of their focus to make India as one of the global production hubs, Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd. (RNAIPL) has earmarked investments worth US $600 million (Rs 5,300 crore). The funds will be utilized for various activities including upgrade of existing portfolio and launch of new products. The alliance partners will also focus on developing new technologies that will power their next-gen cars.
Renault-Nissan will be launching A-segment battery electric vehicles as well as B+ and C-segment SUVs in India. These will be manufactured at the company’s plant located in Oragadam, Tamil Nadu. The SUVs will be targeted at both domestic and export markets.
Renault-Nissan new SUVs for India
As per their renewed strategy for Indian market, Renault-Nissan have started working on their new B+ and C-segment SUVs. These are codenamed P1311-R and P-1312-R in case of Renault and P1311-N and P-1312-N for Nissan versions. These four SUVs have a collective production target of 150,000 units per annuum. They will be sold in both domestic and export markets. Overall, the alliance partners are targeting to manufacture and sell approximately 3.5 lakh units per annuum by 2026.
The increased numbers can be accommodated within the existing plant that is currently functioning at around 50% capacity. RNAIPL plant has installed capacity of 480,000 units per annum. From April 2022 to February 2023, total production was 198,545 units. It includes 111,170 Renault cars and 87,375 units for Nissan.
Renault-Nissan SUVs will be based on the CMF-B platform. The first of these are expected to be launched in 2025, most likely around Diwali. Renault will probably begin with new-gen Duster five seater and a similar offering will be available from Nissan as well. Primary rivals will be Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Maruti Grand Vitara. Longer versions of Renault-Nissan SUVs will be launched in mid-2026. These will be 7 seater Duster and its Nissan version.
At the time of their launch, Renault-Nissan SUVs will be equipped with only petrol engines. The alliance partners don’t see much merit in locally manufacturing a diesel or hybrid powertrain. However, such possibilities can be explored at a later date. It will depend on how the market evolves in the near future. Electrified powertrain kits can be imported and offered with top-spec variants.
Going Forward, Renault-Nissan will also focus on launching A-segment battery electric vehicles by 2027. These could be manufactured locally or CBU route can be considered for all-electric cars like Renault Megane or Nissan Ariya. Till the time new Renault-Nissan cars are launched, the company will focus on upgrading its existing portfolio. Export numbers of cars like left-hand-drive Magnite are expected to go up by around 50k units. This will help reduce overall cost of production per unit.
Capacity utilization to be boosted to 80%
Ashwani Gupta, Nissan Motor Corporation’s global COO, had stated that Renault-Nissan aims to increase plant capacity utilization to 80%. This will be achieved in the next 4-5 years. The company is aiming to achieve 3% market share in India, all while aggressively targeting export markets.
Ashwani said that the company already has 1.5% market share when they are targeting only 15% of Indian automotive space. With the new SUVs, Renault-Nissan can increase their coverage to around 40%. With that, Renault-Nissan should be able to increase market share to 3.5% in India.
