Renault to up parts sourcing from India

CHENNAI: French carmaker Renault will source 80 million worth components this year from India to feed its overseas plants. The firm sourced 35 million worth parts last year.

Renault is gearing up for its re-entry after severing ties with Mahindra & Mahindra. The first car will be its sedan Fluence which will be assembled at the companys plant in Oragadam,Chennai. The plant was set up in alliance with Nissan with a capacity to produce 4 lakh cars a year.

Increased sourcing of parts for our global operations demonstrates our determination to make India the hub for our activities in this region, Sudhir Rao, deputy managing director, Renault India,said. The company had announced plans to launch five cars over the next 18 months. We will now launch five new models in the Indian market over the next 15 months instead of 18 months, Rao said. The company, he said, will have cars in every segment in 15 months.

Terming the Indian market as a challenge, Rao said Renaults success in India was crucial. India entry is a litmus test for success. Only if we succeed here, some other markets will open up for Renault. It is a huge challenge, Rao said.
The company hopes to have 14 dealer outlets across 12 cities by June 2011 which will increase to 40 outlets by December. In the third phase the dealer footprint will increase to 100 outlets.

Component sourcing by Renaults alliance partner Nissan from India for its worldwide operations is also gaining momentum. The company had envisaged $10 million worth components to be sourced from Indian vendors for its plants Thailand, China, Japan and the UK. For the last year we sourced components worth $40 million. For the current fiscal (ending March 2012),we will source $100 million worth parts, Kiminobu Tokuyama,MD of Nissan India,said.