Nissan, Renault plan India reboot with $600 million investment in new models

By Aditi Shah and Satoshi Sugiyama

NEW DELHI/TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA will invest $600 million to make six new models in India, one of three markets in which the two automakers plan to coordinate closely in a revamped alliance announced last week.

The investment, planned over a period of three to five years, will fund the development of two electric models and four sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) for sale in India and abroad, Nissan's chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta told reporters in New Delhi.

Nissan and Renault are making a renewed push into India, which has overtaken Japan to become the world's third-largest car market but where the pair lag the likes of Suzuki Motor and Hyundai Motor.

"This investment is very significant not only on products but on technologies like EVs to really capture the growing Indian market," Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta told reporters.

Industry-wide sales in India surged 23% last year to 4.4 million light vehicles, the fastest growth of any major auto market, according to S&P Global Mobility, with electric vehicle (EV) sales also building momentum.

Nissan and Renault said they would each make three new models in India, built on joint platforms with components and engineering shared between designs.

They will cross-badge the models, Reuters reported earlier this month, even though that risks a Nissan version of a vehicle cannibalising sales of the Renault equivalent or vice-versa.

However, Gupta said there is room for the carmakers to share the space and demonstrate competitiveness in the market place.

The first of the new models will be launched in 2025 and be made at the pair's underutilised car plant at Chennai in southern India, where they also have a research and development centre.

Nissan's majority stake of 70% in the plant, which can produce about 500,000 vehicles a year, will be reduced to 51% as part of the ovehauled deal, leaving Renault with 49%

Last year Renault sold 87,000 locally produced vehicles in India and Nissan just 35,000, with pair accounting for around 3% of the local market.

Unlike Nissan, Renault does not have a significant presence China, the United States and Japan, raising the stakes for its success in India.

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Edwina Gibbs Bradley Perrett, Kirsten Donovan)