. Louis Schweitzer and Keshub Mahindra sign today in Bombay
the agreement establishing a joint venture in India
Mr. Keshub Mahindra,
Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., and Mr. Louis Schweitzer,
Chairman and CEO of Renault Group, signed today, March 21, 2005
in Bombay, a framework agreement for setting up a joint venture
in India, Mahindra Renault Ltd, with Mahindra holding a 51 per cent
share and Renault 49 per cent. The agreement provides for the manufacture
and sale of Logan in the Indian market from 2007.
The estimated project
amount will be 125 million euros for a production capacity of 50,000
cars per year. Logan will be marketed under the brand of Mahindra
Renault. Mahindra & Mahindra will use its extensive dealer network
to distribute the Logan in India. A right hand drive version of
Logan will be developed by Renault in partnership with Mahindra
to meet the needs of Indian and other right-hand drive markets.
With a population
of more than 1 billion inhabitants, India has experienced strong
economic growth, exceeding 8% in 2004. The automobile market progressed
by 68% between 1998 and 2003, reaching 1,040,000 vehicles in 2004
with a marked preference for small and medium segment cars (A,B
& C). For Renault, entering the Indian market, constitutes a major
step in its international development. Including India, Logan will
be produced in six countries: Romania since 2004, Russia, Morocco
and Colombia in 2005, and Iran from 2006.
