After forming a 51:49 joint venture with the Renault Group, Mahindra & Mahindra may use the French company's Dacia plant in Romania to manufacture its Scorpio utility vehicle. This will then be marketed in the developing European markets through Renault distributors.
"Taking Scorpio to the global market through Renault is important," said Pawan Goenka, chief operating officer, automotive sector, M&M, in his final interview before he succeeded Mahindra veteran Alan Durante as the president of the company.
A senior source added that Renault might consider Scorpio for its thrust in the Franco-African market. Renault does not have any SUV in its automotive line-up. Scorpio was developed to have both right and left-hand drive variants and the latter has already gone through the testing phase.
This is the first time an automobile designed and developed in India will be manufactured somewhere else by another carmaker.
The Tata Rover deal had the UK spec CityRover (re-badged Indicas with Rover identity) built in India and exported to the UK.
With M&M currently exploiting synergies in every aspect of its businesses, this move, say market analysts, is in sync with the new joint venture in India. Flagged off three months ago, it will manufacture and sell Renault's small car, Logan, in India from 2007.
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