Renault to roll out Influence by 2011

French carmaker Renault would launch its first sedan -- Influence -- in India by 2011, a top company official said on Wednesday.

"We will introduce the first sedan Influence by 2011...and a SUV Koleos by 2012-13," Renault India country general manager and managing director Marc Nassif said.

He said Influence would be manufactured at the company's facility at Oragadam near Chennai. Renault has tied-up with Japanese automaker Nissan for setting up the manufacturing unit at a joint-investment of Rs 4,500 crore (Rs 45 billion). Nassif, who is also the deputy managing director of Renault-Nissan Automobile India, said the company is keen on localising the products they manufacture at their facility.

"I think Micra will have around 60 per cent of localised content...we want that to reach 80 per cent," he said.

During a panel discussion on India as a global hub of automobiles and components at the two-day AUTOSCM 2010 seminar on automobile supply chain industry organised by CII, Nassif said, "India needs to solve all the infrastructure issues for increasing auto components supply to other countries."

Global logistics firm DHL CEO (Global Forwarding) Christoph Remund said that in years to come the automobile industry's real growth is expected from the Middle Eastern, Asian and Latin American markets. Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium Representative Sven De Wachter said the supply chain industry must be recognised by Indians.

Heaping praises over the Indian government's endeavour to draft a policy (for this industry), he said it should happen at a 'rapid pace'.

He added that India's domestic market is driving the economy and because of it the country was not affected by the global financial crisis.