Homegrown farm equipment-to-software group Mahindra & Mahindra is understood to have pulled out of the tripartite joint venture with Renault and Nissan, barely a year after the parties announced plans to set up a Rs 4000-crore car manufacturing plant here.

Sources in the know of the development said M&M decided to part ways from the JV, in which it held 50 per cent stake with the remaining shared equally between the other two, as it was unhappy with the French firm Renault and Japan’s Nissan firming up multiple partnerships in India for different ventures. When contacted, M&M officials declined to comment.

No comments

Industry sources, however, said M&M was peeved at the fact that Renault decided to go with Bajaj Auto for a small car project, despite the fact that the partners have an existing joint venture to produce mid sized-sedan Logan in India.

Also, the fact that Nissan had firmed up agreement with Ashok Leyland for three separate joint ventures for light commercial venture manufacturing in India added to M&M’s decision not to be a part of the tripartite joint venture anymore.When contacted, a Nissan official from Tokyo declined to comment, while Renault officials were not available for comments.

The tri-lateral joint venture was supposed to have a manufacturing plant, spread over 1,100 acre at Oragadam, south of Chennai, with a capacity to produce 400,000 cars and utility vehicles

The facility was scheduled to be commissioned in 2009 and was also to manufacture power trains for Renault and Nissan.