Renault will go solo in India with Fluence Sedan
With Indian market growing month by month, a lots of international car manufacturer are planning to grab a share of it. Renault and Nissan are no different. The Japanese Nissan Motor has already its presence in the country with Nissan Micra. But, the second largest car maker from France Renault had tough time with its combined venture with Mahindra. So, it has joined hand with Nissan to use its manufacturing facility in India. The two companies are targeting to grab 5 per cent share in the Indian market by 2014 with a portfolio of five products planned to be rolled out by each company over the next two years. Renault, which has firmed up modalities at its joint facility with Nissan at Oragadam, Chennai, will begin manufacturing the luxury sedan Fluence from April.
The car, which will be Renault’s first solo offering in the country, is scheduled to hit the Indian roads a month later in May. Close on its heels the premium crossover sports utility vehicle (SUV) Koleos will be introduced in October. The three other models will follow in the course of 2012, one of them being a 1.1 litre hatchback. While this model will compete with the likes of Hyundai i10, Fluence will take on Honda Civic. Koleos, in the meantime, will be pitted against Honda CR-V and Hyundai Santa Fe. The new models, will be produced by Renault Nissan India Ltd at the Chennai facility, owned in equal proportions by the two companies. The south India plant of the joint venture company has seen an investment of around Rs 4,500 crore and will have a total capacity of 400,000 vehicles per annum after 2014. The two car makers, which have cross holdings in each other companies globally, will only share the manufacturing facility but make and sell their own cars.