Renault-Nissan-Bajaj to Announce Small Car Details in Few Weeks

Bajaj Auto, which have unveiled prototype small car in collaboration with Renault and Nissan last month, will announce the final details of the project in a few weeks says managing director Rajiv Bajaj.

According to Sylvain Blaine, managing director of Renault India, specialist teams from the Bajaj Auto, the Renault-Nissan alliance are engaged in deciding the viability of the project. "We hope we will complete it in one-and-half months," he informed the press.

Last year, Bajaj Auto and Renault started preliminary discussions for beginning the small car project together and have since brought in Nissan as a partner in the development program.

Daring cynics who looked askance at the company's efforts to launch a small car, Bajaj Auto unveiled the prototype of its concept car at the start of the Auto Expo two days before the launch of the Rs1-lakh Tata Nano.  It also announced a price of $3,000 for the car.

Later, Renault Nissan's managing director Carlos Ghosn scaled down the price to $2550.

Showcasing the car Rajiv Bajaj had laid a time frame of two-four years for the car to be ready.

The car is expected to give twice the mileage of current B-segment small cars with its gasoline engine. And it will have multiple powertrain options. “We will also have a diesel option and one can always build LPG, CNG and hybrid options on to the platform as well,” Mr Bajaj said. For diesel, Bosch is “one option”, he added at the New Delhi Auto Show last month.

[source: Domain-B]