The 51:49 joint venture between Indian auto company Mahindra & Mahindra and French automaker Renault, may soon make changes in its product portfolio to give a fillip to its sagging sales. Mahindra-Renault launched the Logan in 2007, which initially sold in encouraging numbers, but has lately seen a drastic fall in sales. The single product-JV, which has been selling only 500 units of the Logan for the past few months, posted a net loss of Rs 490 crore in 2008-09. The two partners have invested Rs 500 crore in the project so far and may have to invest a lot more to keep the company going. M&M President Pawan Goenka, said that the company is very serious about the joint venture and that it has re-aligned production to market demand and cut targets for the current year. The Managing Director of Renault India, Mark Nassif, said that Renault’s India plans may have slowed down a bit but its determination to succeed in the country is still intact.
Mahindra-Renault’s strategy in the coming months will be to give a much needed facelift to the Logan. The revamped version of the car will also meet the BS IV emission norms, which will come into effect in 2010
