Behind every French Success, there are Indian Brains
“Behind every FRENCH Success, there are INDIAN Brains”
You will be hearing this phase more often in coming years.
In late 2024, French carmaker Renault began selling R5 E-Tech, the electric version of R5, an iconic Renault brand initially launched in January 1972.
The French newspaper Les Echos reports that R5 E-Tech is now one of the Top 5 Electric Vehicles in Europe
But did you know a major portion of the new Renault 5’s development was done at Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India (RNTBCI) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Established in 2007, and located in Mahindra World City, Chennai, RNTBCI employs over 10,000 people who work on cutting-edge fields like AI, electric vehicles, cloud computing, digital twins, AR/VR, process engineering and simulation.
12 years ago, I visited RNTBCI where I met Gérard Detourbet, the brain behind Renault’s entry-level vehicles (including the affordable Dacia brand).
Gérard managed a team at RNTBCI that developed the CMF-A vehicle platform which gave birth in 2015 to Kwid, the first Renault car designed and built 100% in India for India.
In 2013, when I launched the French edition of my book Jugaad Innovation, I presented it at Renault’s Technocentre (R&D hub) in Guyancourt, just outside Paris.
Today, Renault’s Guyancourt Technocentre employs 11,000 people and is a leading auto R&D center in Europe.
But by 2030, RNTBCI in Chennai will likely eclipse Renault’s Technocentre in Guyancourt both in terms of employee size and strategic R&D and business value created for Renault globally.
Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault, acknowledged that RNTBCI, in addition to developing R5, also made significantly R&D contribution to R4 E-Tech, the EV upgrade of Renault’s iconic brand R4, initially launched in 1961.
Production of R4 E-Tech will begin in 2025.
Just like the relaunched R5, the reinvented R4 electric will likely be a big success — hence confirming the saying:
“Behind Every French Success, There Are Indian Brains”
Recognizing RNTBCI’s growing relevance and impact at Renault Group, its CEO Luca de Meo calls RNTBCI “one of the wheels of our system”
Read also my post about the Design Center Renault recently opened in Chennai, India, near RNTBCI.
