Renault still keen on developing Nano rival

Franco-Japanese alliance, Renault Nissan, which has relied on partnerships in India in the past, has said not all tie-ups have been productive and gave a clear indication that its partnership with Bajaj for a low-cost car was all but over.

Alliance chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn said while the quadricycle RE60 was good for Bajaj, Renault Nissan was not advancing on that anymore. Bajaj was expected to develop an ultra low-cost car to take Tata Nano head-on. Renault Nissan was due to market and sell the car.

"India is a complex market so we needed partners to understand it," Ghosn said. "Not all partnerships were productive. We are still sticking to the Nano idea and we are going to deliver on that. The quadricycle that Bajaj has developed is good for them but not quite for us. We are not advancing too fast on that."

In the past, Renault had tied up with Mahindra and Mahindra in 2005 to manufacture and sell its low-cost Logan sedan in India.

The vehicle was launched two years later but was an underperformer throughout. In 2010, Mahindra bought over Renault's stake in the joint venture and has since then launched a refreshed version of the car as also a sub-4 metre variant earlier this year.

Nissan's partnership with Ashok Leyland that has three joint ventures, is the only bright spot for the alliance.

The partnership produced the Dost light commercial vehicle, which has done well in the market, and recently launched the Evalia utility vehicle and a commercial version Stile. There are plans to launch more products under the collaboration in future.

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