Renault opens design centre near Chennai

CHENNAI: French carmaker Renault inaugurated its new design centre near Chennai on Tuesday, signalling its confidence in India’s capabilities.

The facility, into which Euro 1.5 million has been invested, is set to play a key role in Renault’s efforts to boost local design and innovation.

Renault CEO-MD Venkatram Mamillapalle said the company plans to introduce five new models over the next two years, all designed and manufactured in India with a strong focus on localisation.

The new design centre will serve as a hub of excellence, partly due to its proximity to the Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India at Mahindra World City, located about 55km south of Chennai.

Spread across 1,500 sq m, the Renault design centre Chennai is equipped with cutting-edge technologies, creating an ultra-modern environment tailored for innovation and creativity.

This is Renault’s fifth design centre globally, which happens to be one of its largest hub. Renault group employs nearly 10,000 engineers around the world, many of whom contribute to local projects and global initiatives. Renault has been present in India since 2005 with its initial operations in Mumbai.

The carmaker highlighted its efforts to ‘make in India’ with up to 90 per cent localisation apart from the recent announcement concerning the project of a 100 per cent takeover of the alliance’s (with Nissan) manufacturing plant RNAIPL.

The unveiling of the design Centre and renault. rethink strategy also reflects the step towards implementation of the global gameplan and enhanced focus on India. This step comes on the back of Renault Group’s strong performance in its home country that has set the stage for this ambitious expansion. A high-tech sculpture, showcasing the future design of Renault in India was also unveiled by Renault Group chief design officer Laurens van den Acker and Mamillapalle.

In 2024, Renault achieved the highest ever operating profit of Euro 4.3 billion, which is 7.6 per cent of its revenue, which grow to Euro 56.2 billion, up 7.4 per cent from the previous year.

Acker said the new Renault design centre will focus on developing models and concepts tailored to the Indian market while contributing to Renault Group’s global projects.

“The strategic location of the design centre - at the heart of Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India excellence hub - also enables closer collaboration across functions and faster integration of design into our engineering and innovation processes,” he said.