Renault India to begin exporting Duster SUV to the UK from January

Chennai, November 16, 2012: Renault will begin exporting its runaway success, the Duster SUV, to the UK from January 2013. The shipments will be from the Ennore port, outside Chennai.

Marc Nassif, managing director, Renault India, who inaugurated the CII-organised Auto Serve exhibition being held at the Chennai Trade Centre (November 16-18), confirmed that along with the UK, all countries with right-hand-drive vehicles are potentially a market for exports.

While initial exports will be in the thousands, Nassif said that as more and more markets are explored, the numbers will go up. "We are currently looking at Western Africa, South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore," he said. He also maintained that the Renault-Nissan Alliance is not looking to expand its manufacturing facility in Oragadam to cater to the exports. Nassif added, "Our main core business is the domestic market. In India, export is an opportunity."

Nassif continued that the current crop of vendors has enough capability to produce the additional components required for exports. "We are using India as a parts hub as we have already sourced components worth Rs 500 crore this year for the global market including markets that aren't right-hand drive," he said.

KARTHIK H

Photograph (L-R): Marc Nassif, MD, Renault India; R Dinesh, chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry, Tamil Nadu State Council; and Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai, inaugurate Auto Serve 2012 at the Chennai Trade Centre.