Suzuki-Nissan team does some networking

NEW DELHI: The four-day India tour of Suzuki Motor Company chief O Suzuki appears to be a hectic one. He has been doing the rounds of the corridors of power in Delhi, accompanied by a high-powered delegation comprising Nissan Motor Company’s vice-chairman T Isayama, Maruti MD Jagdish Khattar and other top officials.

The Suzuki-Nissan delegation is expected to meet the prime minister, having already held discussions with finance minister P Chidambaram, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath and railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

And the agenda? The chiefs of Suzuki and Nissan have been seeking Centre’s support in making their collaboration in India a success. Take for instance the meeting this delegation had with the heavy industries minister Santosh Mohan Deb on Wednesday evening.

Deb said the two companies sought the government’s support for improving infrastructure, including connectivity to ports and efficient transportation by rail and road.

Nissan had announced earlier this year that it would be sourcing vehicles from Suzuki’s Indian operations, largely for export purposes. The two companies have already said that half-a-million passenger cars and mini vans would be manufactured for Nissan at Maruti’s new plant coming up at Manesar.

Of these, about 3.4 lakh ‘A’ segment passenger vehicles would be exported to Europe.

SMC will build a new compact car in India for Nissan at Maruti’s facilities, mostly bound for the European market. Industry analysts point out that the new car could be based on any of its 660cc mini vehicles that are currently sold in Japan and could be re-engineered to carry a 1-1.2 litre petrol engine.

Maruti and Suzuki Motor Corporation have already announced joint investments to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore in setting up a new car plant, a diesel engine and transmission facility, in launching new car models and upgradation of existing models.

No new investment is expected to come in from Nissan for the Suzuki-Nissan tie-up and the former is expected to limit the alliance at present to sourcing vehicles from India. It remains to be seen whether Nissan enlarges its presence in India at a later stage and seeks to source more than just passenger cars for its global needs. The Japanese major currently sells the imported SUV ‘X-Trail’ in the country.