Nissan has chosen Mitsui OSK Lines for inland export activity from the plant it is building near Chennai in India.
Situated in Oragadam, the plant is being promoted by an alliance partnership with Renault called Renault Nissan Automotive Indian Private Ltd, though the French carmaker will not be part of the production schedule when it begins early next year.
First Nissan exports are scheduled for later in 2010, mainly to Europe, and the company says it could export around 110,000 units from there in the year 2011 with future plans for as many as 180,000.
Nissan spokesman Shiro Nagai told Automotive Logistics that production will start with the replacement for the Micra.
The Oragadam plant will initially produce two-lakh cars (one lakh is equal to 100,000 rupees or around $2,000 and has become the Nano-inspired yardstick of a basic car). Nissan is proposing to scale this up to manufacture three-lakh cars in about four years' time and eventually have the capacity to manufacture four-lakh cars.
The contract with MOL includes transporting the vehicles to the government-owned Port of Ennore near Chennai, as well as handling, storage and preparation for loading.
Mitsui established MOL Auto Logistics (India) at the end of last year in response to what it saw then as an overall increase in car production in the country (read more here).
The move followed an agreement between Nissan Motor India and the Port of Ennore signed in October for exports from the Oragadam plant.
The Japanese carmaker intends to launch nine models in India by 2012, including five India-made models.
