After all, is not India the country of “frugal” innovation? According to our information, PSA has commissioned the outsourced R & D company Tata Consultancy Services to design vehicles adapted to the needs of Indian customers, or even other emerging countries – a bit like the Kwid models at Renault. Internally, these low-cost cars are called smart cars.
Carlos Tavares, the boss of the French manufacturer, spent three days in mid-April to oversee the progress of the program. “India will be the point of convergence and industrialization of the future smart cars family,” said the Portuguese leader a few days ago, during the meeting.general meeting PSA shareholders.
“The goal is to have a manufacturing price half as high as in France. We give ourselves the time it will take, “says an internal source to the group. The whole should be based on a specific platform for emerging countries, which could be deployed in India, Iran, South-East Asia or Latin America.
“These will not be low-cost cars like the Tata Nano,” says the group’s management. The goal is to develop vehicles adapted to the expectations of Indian customers. In particular, we have asked Tata, but given its new entrant status in this type of R & D market, we are also likely to surround ourselves with local expertise from other engineering firms. “
Local parts
According to the local press, the troops of Tata Consultancy Services, one of the countless branches of the conglomerate Indian, would work on several vehicles. PSA would like a 90% local parts supply, and would seek to reduce production costs by at least a third compared to its best global standard.
While waiting for the development of his smart cars, PSA should start production at its Indian partner CK Birla from mid-2019 , at the rate of 30,000 then 60,000 cars in the year. The factory is expected to eventually have a capacity of 100,000 units per year. It must be doubled by a unit for manufacturing engines and transmissions. On site, the group also relies on a network of independent dealers.
International
As PSA sales soar in Europe , the group, which has just bought the German Opel, must be more international to avoid being caught in the throat in the event of a market downturn on the Old Continent. If volumes plummet in China, Carlos Tavares and his staff revived production in Iran, and found new partners in Vietnam, Algeria or Malaysia.
PSA also bought last year the rights to the brand Ambassador, well known in India.