Renault Nissan Technology Business Centre India – the global R&D arm of Renault Nissan Alliance in the country is executing almost 50% of its work for international operations.
Employing over 10,000 engineers with 6000 of them delivering core engineering work, and over 3000 of them delivering software and connectivity solutions for the projects worldwide, RNTBCI is the third-largest automotive vehicle development base in the country. The company is working on several dozen global projects from hard-core product development to software solutions.
The 51:49 joint venture between Renault-Nissan is the biggest R&D hub for both the French and Japanese car makers outside their home base.
Speaking at the Renault Nissan Alliance event at the Oragadam factory – Debashis Neogi, MD of Renault Nissan Technology Business Centre India said, “India is a preferred partner for the alliance for value creation and innovation. We believe in India for the global and that is at the heart of our existence. India is playing a critical role in the alliance by using local assets and digital tools to accelerate vehicle development. The base is delivering from concept to production adopting both virtual and physical means.”
The arm in India has already worked on key global projects for both Renault and Nissan for models such as the Renault 5, Renault Scenic, Renault Spring, Nissan X-Trail including electrified powertrains of Nissan – E-Note (powered by E-Power) and Nissan Leaf.
The company has designed, engineered and delivered over 13 models for the Indian market over the last decade and a half, and has already kickstarted work on half a dozen models for the Indian market – 2 SUVs and 1 EV – each for both Renault and Nissan in the country.
The scope of work at RNTBCI ranges from research and advanced engineering, vehicle development, simulation and test, software and ADAS, powertrain engineering, chassis engineering, electrical and electronics engineering and production engineering.
On the software front, Neogi informed that the company uses data technology, AI (Artificial Intelligence), ML (Machine Learning), Blockchain, and mobile technology to deliver product lifecycle management, connected car services, salesforce, SAP, full stack technology that ensures plants are connected and operations are connected.
The Global Business Services arm has over 760 engineers delivering solutions in the areas of accounting, finance, costing, digital finance factory, fixed marketing investment, customs, HR services and finance support office.
Neogi added that the RNTBCI base manages the entire backend accounting for the entire Renault group from its Tamil Nadu base.
As part of its future vision, the company intends to expand the role of deep tech startups, partnering with academia to hire young engineers and a higher women workforce to deliver global solutions.
Neogi says India has the third largest startup pool in the world with 3000 deep tech startups and, on its part, RNTBCI is working with many of these startups to help them in the incubation stage and use their services.
On the diversity agenda, the share of the women workforce has already increased from 11-23% over the last few years, and Neogi says the target is to increase it to 50% in the coming decade.
“We believe in diversity and inclusion and we are working aggressively on having a diversified workforce. We aspire to take the women workforce to 50% in the coming years,” he added.
To secure a skilled workforce – Renault Nissan has partnered with multiple Institutes and Universities in and around Chennai to develop skilled engineers and has even curated dedicated courses in the Automotive domain.
“Academia plays a very important role, we hire a lot of engineers for internships, and we give them intense training. We have launched an M Tech in Mobility, we have tailor-made a course, wherein the industry-ready talent could enter the market.
“We have signed four MoUs with institutes such as Amrita, VIT, SRM and we will continue to work with them. We are working with IIT Research Park on advanced battery chemistry. We are fully geared up for internal and external innovation to capitalise on future growth,” Neogi stated.
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