Joint Nissan and Renault India Trip Confirms BEV Investment

Nissan confirms it is going ahead with its investment in Renault's battery-electric-vehicle business, Ampere, during a joint visit by the companies’ CEOs to India.

This is the first time both Renault’s Luca de Meo and Nissan’s Makoto Uchida have visited the South Asian nation seen as a potential powerhouse for vehicle sales growth, Reuters reports. Nissan’s backing of Ampere comes despite the canceled plans to launch the company on the Wall Street stock market because of sluggish stock market conditions.

Uchida tells media during a press briefing in the southern Indian city of Chennai: “We want to be a global (EV) player in the world. Therefore, regardless of the IPO whatsoever, we are looking at Ampere. We are already discussing...Ampere, our investment.” The automaker says it will invest $650 million in Ampere.

Both Uchida and de Meo note on their trip that the Indian car market is a tough and competitive arena and would require government support and an ecosystem for the transition to BEVs.

Uchida also confirms Nissan is exploring greater collaboration with Honda in a strategic bid to stave off stiff competition in BEVs from China's BYD, Tesla and other global automakers. 

The automakers are open to working together in any region and will launch a 5-seater and a 7-seater vehicle under each brand in India with plans to export them.