The company today held a ground breaking ceremony at the site in Chennai. "This is an important day in Chennai for Renault, Nissan, our local employees and the community. The new project is a very tangible result of the strength and success of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, and is a clear indicator of RNAIPL's long-term strategy for this important market," RNAIPL Managing Director Shohei Kimura said in a statement.
The facility, which is expected to begin operations in 2010, would have an annual production capacity of four lakh vehicles for both local market and export.
RNAIPL is a 50:50 joint venture between Renault and Nissan to manufacture passenger vehicles and has a minimum investment plan of Rs 4,500 crore in the country.
Earlier last month, Renault-Nissan Alliance entered into a joint venture with the country's two wheeler major Bajaj to develop, produce and market a low-cost car by 2011, which will be priced at $2,500.
Besides, Renault has planned to produce several cars on the Logan as well as other platforms. "It is currently developing a product range to best match Indian customers' needs, tastes and dreams," the company said. On the other hand, Nissan would produce a family of models based on its new A-platform, including Micra.
