Shares in French automaker Renault gained ground Friday after the
company confirmed that it was considering production of a low-cost
vehicle earmarked for emerging market countries.
The stock was trading at 114.45 euros at mid-day, up 0.71 percent from Thursday's close.
Renault said it was considering an expansion of its engineering unit in
India following a report in the newspaper Le Figaro on Thursday that
the group was to establish “a research center (in India) to produce a
low-priced car,” costing perhaps 3,000 dollars.
The paper added that the planned facility would employ more than 1,000 engineers in India.
“We're considering a car that would be even more competitive than the
Logan (another Renault model) in terms of price … that would be
destined for emerging markets,” a Renault spokeswoman told AFP.
But she added that “no decision” had been taken on distribution channels for the new vehicle.
She said Renault was studying a project to expand an engineering team
that is currently working at a facility in Nashik, near Bombay in
western India, where the Logan is produced.
India is a key development target for Renault, which launched the
low-cost Logan model on the Indian market in April. Around 50,000 cars
a year are to be produced at the Nashik plant, which is operated in
conjunction with the Indian group Mahindra and Mahindra.
