Nissan plans $840mn investment in India

Nissan Motor, Japan's second largest automaker, is planning to invest $840 million for the construction of auto factories in India.

Nissan is considering two or three coastal cities in western and southern India as possible locations, and plans to negotiate with local governments before making a decision that could come as early as this month, the Nikkei business daily said today.

Construction on the main assembly plant will begin this year, the business daily said, adding that Nissan is expecting to launch operations in the latter half of 2009 with an annual output capacity of around 2,00,000 units.

The factory will turn out one-litre-class subcompacts, the daily said. Some 30% of the vehicles will be sold in India with the remaining 70% to be exported to Europe and other markets.