Caption (R-L)
: Felten Pascal – Vice
President : Manufacturing and Supply Chain, Africa, Middle East and India,
Renault; Fumiaki Matsumoto –
Executive Vice President, Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management
operations, Nissan Motor Corporation; Collin
Mcdonald – CEO & MD, Renault Nissan Automotive India Private
Limited; Christian Mardrus – Senior
Vice President, Chairman of the Management Committee for Africa, Middle East,
and India (MC-AMI) and Guillaume Sicard –
President, Nissan India Operations
It’s time for celebrations at
the Renault-Nissan's Alliance plant in India. The workforce at Renault-Nissan's
Alliance plant in Oragadam near Chennai has reached a significant production
milestone by manufacturing its one millionth vehicle. The landmark car – a
Nissan Micra, rolled off the line at 1215 hrs on January 8, 2016.
The most recent model to be
introduced at the plant was the Renault Kwid hatch in September last year. This
will be followed in 2016 by the third Datsun-branded vehicle to be sold in
India.
The plant, which is the
largest Alliance production facility in the world, started operation in March
2010 following an Rs 4500 crore initial investment. The Alliance has since
invested a further Rs 1600 crore to increase capability with a world-class
powertrain manufacturing facility and tooling. The plant has introduced 32 new
Renault, Nissan and Datsun models and derivatives to its production line. The
plant caters to both domestic and international markets and has developed into
India's second largest car exporter with more than 600,000 units shipped to 106
countries since 2010.
In that time annual production
volume has risen from an initial 75,000 units in the 2010 financial year, to
over 200,000 by the end of CY 2015 in March.
Christian Mardrus, Chairman of
Nissan's Africa, Middle East and India region, and former Alliance Executive
Vice President, commented: "I congratulate our workforce in Chennai for
achieving a significant landmark in the ongoing evolution of this important
plant.
"Our Chennai facility
has, and will continue, to play a fundamental role in the development of our
business in India. Today's milestone reflects the popularity of Nissan and
Renault products in India and export markets, as well as the skill and
dedication of our staff. It is also a measure of the high level of support we
have enjoyed from the Tamil Nadu government."
The plant was established by
the Alliance to meet the growing demand from Indian customers for high quality,
locally-produced cars. It is complimented by a major R&D centre, also in
Chennai, which plays a huge role in model development in India ensuring
products are locally relevant.
Together, the manufacturing
plant and R&D facility account for around 12,000 direct jobs in Tamil Nadu,
with a further 40,000 in the Indian supplier chain, making an increasing
contribution to the local economy.
Colin MacDonald, plant
Managing Director of Renault Nissan Alliance India Private Ltd (RNAIPL),
commented: "This is a proud day for everyone associated with the plant. On
average we have launched two new models each year across three brands since
2010. The workforce and our supplier partners deserve enormous credit for
achieving this while increasing annual production volume and maintaining world
class quality levels."
Source: Renault-Nissan