PTI

NEW DELHI, Jan 10: Taking a cautious approach in the wake of a market slump, Japanese carmaker Nissan on Friday said it would start with a single line of production to launch a small car in India by 2010 from its upcoming greenfield facility in Chennai, co-developed with French giant Renault.

“We have to be economic and keep in mind the customer’s demand. So, we are going slow and will have to start with a single line (of production) for the both firms,” Nissan Motor India Chief Executive Officer Shouhei Kimura told reporters here.

Commitment

The joint venture between the two firms — Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. — had earlier planned to have two different production lines for the two manufacturers but recently announced that they would be holding back on investments in the wake of the global economic downturn. “We have to look at the market very carefully and the second line will be added depending on the economic condition,” Mr. Kimura said, adding that the facility would initially produce two lakh vehicles annually.

“Our commitment to the plant is to invest Rs. 4,500 crore to produce four lakh units annually and we are not holding the investment. This capacity will be achieved by 2015 as per the MoU signed with the Tamil Nadu Government,” Mr. Kimura said. He said that despite the market condition, the company would roll out its locally produced small car by 2010.

On the tripartite low-cost car project with Renault and Bajaj, Mr. Kimura said the parties were assessing the market situation. Besides, Nissan would launch two new variants of its SUV X-Trail and sedan Teana in India next year.

On the company’s export contract for A-Star with Maruti Suzuki, Mr. Kimura said: “Many rumours and many speculations are there. It is not the time to announce when and by how much volume, we will export A-Star from Suzuki.” He said the company exported the hatchback to Europe under the brand Pixo and the shipment would start this year