Japanese auto maker Nissan on Friday said it will manufacture the next generation of Micra model at Renault’s Flins plant in France for exports within Europe from 2016 in addition to the Chennai plant of the Franco-Japanese auto alliance.
“...the replacement for the current Nissan Micra compact car will be manufactured at a Renault plant in Europe. Due to start production in 2016, the vehicle will be exported across Europe’s left-hand drive markets,” Nissan said in a statement.
Under its ‘Nissan Power 88’ six-year business plan, it has set a target of garnering global market share of 8 per cent and increase its corporate operating profit to a 8 per cent by the end of fiscal 2016.
The company said it “will launch, on average, one new model every six weeks for the duration of the plan. Consequently, available capacity across the relevant plants in the Nissan manufacturing network is already planned to be fully utilised and led the company to look at alternatives within the Renault-Nissan Alliance”.
Driven by sales and share expansion across Europe and Russia, Nissan’s manufacturing capacity in Europe and India (the current source for the Micra) will be fully utilised in the mid-term period, it added.
The company plans to roll out 82,000 units of the next generation Micra from Renault’s Flins plant. Nissan Europe Chairman of the Management Committee Trevor Mann said: “Nissan is pleased to leverage the economic and logistical benefits of sourcing the next generation Micra at a forecasted annual volume of 82,000 units from a Renault plant in Europe. Nissan already sources powertrain from the Cleon facility and the NV400 light commercial vehicle from the Batilly plant.”
Stating that the company will continue to produce the Micra at the alliance’s plant in Chennai, it said: “...we can confirm that the Renault-Nissan Alliance plant in Chennai will continue to produce both the current Micra model, and the next Micra from 2016 in RHD (right hand drive) form and also LHD (left hand drive) for some markets.”
Additionally, consistent with Nissan’s plans to introduce 10 new models in India during its mid-term business plan period, and plans beyond that, Chennai will continue ramping up to run at full production capacity as previously stated, it added. “There is therefore no impact on Nissan’s current and future India,” the statement said.
The Renault-Nissan alliance had invested Rs 4,500 crore to set up their first manufacturing plant at Oragadam, near Chennai with a total capacity of producing four lakh units per annum. According to reports the partners are planning to invest $320 million to set up a second plant in India with an annual capacity of 2,00,000 units in Chennai.