Latest news with #RenaultIndia
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Renault plans to double India parts sourcing, says MD Venkatram Mamillapalle
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Shally Seth MohileMumbai: Renault plans to more than double component sourcing from India to ₹400 million (about ₹4,055 crore) over the next five years, a senior executive said, as the automaker sharpens focus on making the country a key part of its global supply chain . The company currently buys ₹170 million worth of auto parts from India move to accelerate component sourcing from India tracks the French automaker issuing a profit warning last week amid weaker-than-expected June sales and headwinds in Europe. It also said it would accelerate cost-cutting measures to improve margins in the second half of this calendar year."Our ambition is to make India a strong sourcing hub, not only to meet global requirements but also to drive greater value for our Indian supplier ecosystem," Venkatram Mamillapalle, MD at Renault India , told ET on Wednesday. Scaling of component exports will help strengthen the company's supplier base and improve its global competitiveness, he senior Renault India executive was speaking on the sidelines of the introduction of the new Triber on Wednesday. The updated model is likely to challenge Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga and Toyota 's Rumion in the compact MPV segment besides compact Triber is the first of four new models Renault will be introducing over the next two years as part of its $600 million investment plan for the Indian market. The company, which has been a fringe player in the local market with less than a 1% share, is looking to reboot its Indian operations with the new model launches. Mamillapalle noted that the company is moving towards faster decision-making and tighter integration under a unified leadership structure, following a shift from the earlier multi-entity model involving Renault, Nissan, and the speculation about potential collaborations with Indian automakers, he said, "There is no reason I need a partner. We have our own design, engineering, manufacturing and network. Somebody else may need my assistance - we don't need anybody's."Bloomberg reported on July 4 that Renault is in early discussions with the JSW Group for a potential joint venture. "We are fully committed to the Indian market, and we believe the next phase of growth will be driven by scale, efficiency, and a sharper product focus," he said.
Mint
5 hours ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Renault's India encore: A ‘one-chef kitchen' strategy for a comeback
French carmaker Renault, which has made little headway in India in its 20 years here, is taking another crack at what it considers a strategically important market. The Paris-based carmaker claims to have learnt from its past mistakes. Renault India will be quick to respond to market needs, make consistent product launches and updates, and decision-making will be routed through one person, managing director Venkatram Mamillapalle said, contrasting it with the near-bureaucratic process earlier when it was married to Nissan. 'Today, we are one chef in the kitchen," he said, referring to Renault naming Stephane Deblaise as India CEO this week. He will take over from 1 September. 'Everything goes into one person or one power centre, and from there, it gets distributed and then cascades back. So, the responsibility and responsiveness will be terrifically good, which wasn't the case earlier," he said. Earlier, decision-making for Renault in India was complicated given its global alliance with Nissan, which also sells cars in India. The two companies will still collaborate in India, with Renault contract-manufacturing for Nissan, but the operations will not be as integrated as before, simplifying India-specific decision making for the French carmaker. Mamillapalle agreed that Renault missed a few tricks in India. For instance, it had launched the Duster and Kwid which turned out to be popular, but failed to maintain the momentum they generated by following up with regular updates and new launches. This was due to a lack of continuous investments in India, which he tied to global issues including financial struggles of the parent during the pandemic outbreak and its strained relationship with Nissan. 'Renault was at a sweet spot when they launched the Duster and Kwid, and later with the Triber and Kiger. But unfortunately, they were not able to sustain it with regular product updates," said Gaurav Vangaal, associate director at S&P Global Mobility, where he leads the light vehicle production forecast practice for the Indian subcontinent. In 2023, when Renault decided to revitalize its India operations after exiting China and Russia, its headquarters in Paris cleared a $600-million budget for four new cars for the country. The first of these was formally unveiled Wednesday as the refreshed edition of Triber, which is Renault's experiment at making a seven-seater car under four metres of length to benefit from India's small-car friendly tax structure. The Triber was launched to a lukewarm response in 2019, selling about 5,000 units a month in its first year against Renault's expectations of 7,000. Sales slowed to about 1,500 units a month as of 2025. Despite this, it manages to be Renault's top-seller in India, pointing to the French company's dismal performance in the country. Renault sold less than 40,000 cars in India in FY25, less than a quarter of what market leader Maruti Suzuki sells in a month. At its peak, it had sold about 135,000 units in FY17 with the success of Kwid and Duster. To remedy this, the company has planned regular product launches and investments in expanding its sales network. This will help it reach more customers across price points and geographical locations, as per Mamillapalle. On the product front, it will focus on SUVs across price points to cater to growing consumer demand for these vehicles, he said. The company did disclose the specifics of its product plans, but Autocar Professional has reported that the four planned launches include the updated Triber, Kiger and Duster as well as Bigster, which would be a seven-seater SUV based on the Duster platform. But getting customers back to its showrooms won't be an easy task for Renault. It will have to tick many boxes to win in a highly competitive market, S&P's Vangaal said. 'When Renault launched Duster, there were only a few SUVs in the market, and that too from the older generation. Today, the market is flooded with new-gen SUVs. Competition is intense and consumers are spoilt for choice," he said. Mamillapalle is unperturbed. 'I've got the biggest marketing agency, which is called product. The products will start getting customer focus, and they will build a brand as well," he said.
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Hindu
We are here to stay, says Renault India MD
French carmaker Renault India on Wednesday introduced the All-New Renault Triber, a 7-seater car priced starting ₹6,29,995 (ex-Showroom). The top most model is priced at ₹9.16 lakh. This new generation family car has debuted with a completely redesigned front fascia and is equipped with 35 new features. This is the first ever product under the company's renault. rethink. brand transformation strategy. Three more new products would be introduced in two years to broad base product offering. Venkatram Mamillapalle, Managing Director, Renault India, said, 'India remains a cornerstone of Renault's global strategy, driven by a strong product pipeline, expanding export operations, and a renewed focus on customer satisfaction.' 'The all-New Triber is also the first in India to feature Renault's new brand logo, symbolising the company's bold, modern direction and deep alignment with Indian aspirations,' he said. 'As a fully integrated operation with a manufacturing plant, R&D centre, and design studio based in India, Renault continues to develop and produce vehicles tailored specifically for Indian customers — truly by India, for India,' he said adding that the new Triber is over 90% localised, underscoring the company's long-term commitment to the Indian market. The made in India Triber already has 1.84 lakh customers in the country and is exported to over a dozen countries around the world. He said the introduction of the All-New Triber marked an important milestone in Renault's product renewal strategy, aimed at claiming its due position in the competitive Indian automobile market In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Mamillapalle said after deciding to take over 100% of the manufacturing plant in Chennai, the company now had design studio, engineering centre, manufacturing plant and commercial organisation together as Renault group in India. 'We are in the process of combining everything. It will take some more time but whenever we finish, at that time it will be one single organisation which will be in India, the large organisation which will be very similar to any of the Indian OEMs,' he said. Recently the company launched the R stores which is the new showroom to provide new experience to customers. 'We have three more products to come within next two years. We will continue to work in India on a long-term basis. The most important thing for us is the capacity utilization of the plant. And with the partner Nissan, we are sure that we will be reaching to that level once the total industry volume goes up from current 4.3 to 6 million in future or 8 million in 2032,' he said. On the rare earth issue worrying the automobile industry he said, 'As far as Renault India is concerned, absolutely no problem. We are not worried about rare earth at this part of time because we are secured. Globally, we are so wide and deep that our purchasing team has a lot of efficiency. I don't think we see a problem. Until the rare earth producer changes some policy, we don't see a threat.' The Renault Group which has fixed problems in many of its global markets has now focused its attention on India where it currently holds about 1% of the market share. 'Now the focus is in India. The ₹5,400 crore of investment which we announced is part of the plan. The design studio in India, is second largest after France. We acquired the 100% of the plant [in Chennai], which shows that we have a plan. We have confidence in this market,' he added. 'We are here to stay. We are giving confidence. We have invested massively over a period of time, both money as well as time and resources. Now we are establishing ourselves as one single organization with tech center, design studio, manufacturing and commercial together,' he emphasised. 'And all these three put together will give us the right products at right time and at a right cost, which will definitely give us success. And we will work in this direction,' he stated.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Renault India to roll out 4 new products in the next 2 years
Chennai: Renault India plans to roll out four new products in the next two years including the new Triber which was rolled out on Wednesday. The company expects its new product lineup and that of its alliance partner Nissan to ensure better capacity utilisation at its Oragadam plant, said a top company official. Venkatram Mamillapalle, MD, Renault India said, 'The future lineup which we have announced — which includes four products in the next two years – along with what the products our alliance partner will come up with together will help us reach and utilize our full capacity.' Consequently, he added, the company will not need to 'look for any outsider to come and fill our volumes at this point in time' through contract manufacturing. The Triber, he said, is coming in just before the onset of the festival season with Onam with demand expected to bounce back around this time. 'The pullback we saw in H1 will reverse possibly with double the momentum in H2,' he added. The H1 tepid demand, he explained, was on account of many uncertainties including supply chain issues, rare earth concerns, and shifting global trade dynamics like tariff changes. 'All of this impacted sentiment and created a kind of market hesitation,' he said. 'But I am very optimistic that the festive season will help the entire industry recover.' Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
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Business Standard
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Standard
Will wait for EV ecosystem to mature before making entry: Renault India CEO
The company also said it is expecting to complete the acquisition of Nissan stake in the Chennai manufacturing plant 'very soon' Press Trust of India Mumbai French auto major Renault is looking for the EV ecosystem in India to mature before getting into the space. The company also said it is expecting to complete the acquisition of Nissan stake in the Chennai manufacturing plant "very soon." Earlier, Renault rolled out the all-new, seven-seater Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) Triber at a starting price of Rs 6.29 lakh (ex-showroom). "We are doing our analysis. We are looking for the whole ecosystem to mature before we put the product in place," said Venkatram Mamillapalle, Managing Director at Renault India. Currently, what Renault India is looking for is the "maturity of the market, the regulation and the ecosystem. All three together," he added. He said that the company is going to be there in multi-powertrain options, including electric, adding, "We will take an appropriate time to announce the launches, and one at a time. " "CNG and gasoline are already there. So we are talking about other energies. The endeavour to come to that level is very quick," he said. "We have everything at arm's length, whether it's hybrid ethanol or EVs, everything is available with us, so we don't need to seek technology. It's in my kitchen. It's as and when the maturity happens, the market picks up because it's very important that there is a proper ecosystem for adaptability of a customer," he said. "So, we are looking up for the market. We are waiting for the right moment," Mamillapally said. He said the launch of all-new Kiger is the beginning of the company's plans of bringing four products in the next two years. "But that is not just the end of the story again. It's a continuation of our lineup which will happen," he said.. Currently, Renault has three offerings in its India portfolio the MPV Triber, compact SUV Kiger and hatchback Kwid. In the April-June quarter of this fiscal. Renault India domestic sales declined 30 per cent at 7,729 units from 10,969 vehicles in the year-ago period. The company's market shares currently stands at less than 1 per cent. Renault has set a target of having a 5 per cent market share in the world's third-largest car market by sales volume. He said that more than the market share, the company's first priority is to utilise the plant capacity that it has, with its partner, Nissan India. Renault Group in March this year announced signing a Framework Agreement with Nissan for acquiring its 51 per cent stake in Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd (RNAIPL). On all new Triber, Mamillapalle said, "India remains a cornerstone of Renault's global strategy, driven by a strong product pipeline, expanding export operations, and a renewed focus on customer satisfaction." The new Triber is over 90 per cent localized, underscoring Renault's long-term commitment to the Indian market, he said.
