Renault Renovates Chennai Design Centre; Second Largest Renault Design Centre Globally

Renault India has inaugurated a new state-of-the-art design facility at its Technology and Business Centre on the outskirts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, marking a significant expansion of the French automaker's footprint in the country. The Renault Design Centre Chennai (RDCC), is now the company’s second-largest global design studio after its Paris headquarters. The new centre was formally inaugurated by Laurens van den Acker, Renault Group’s Chief Design Officer, along with Renault India CEO and Managing Director Venkatram Mamillapalle, Vice President of Sales and Marketing Francisco Hidalgo, and Head of the India Design Studio Julien Sabatier.

Although Renault has previously operated design studios in Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai, the RDCC consolidates and supersedes those facilities, bringing all design operations under one roof. The move reflects a strategic realignment by the Renault Nissan Alliance, with Renault now having full control of the manufacturing operations at the Tamil Nadu plant following Nissan’s exit from the joint venture.

RDCC is equipped with cutting-edge technology consistent with Renault’s international design centres. The facility features an 8.5x2.4-metre LED wall for life-size design previews, advanced virtual reality systems for 3D modelling, and digital collaboration terminals enabling real-time co-design with teams in other parts of the world. The infrastructure is aimed at leveraging India’s growing pool of design talent while enhancing Renault’s global design capabilities.

The Chennai studio will be responsible not only for vehicles intended for the Indian market—such as the upcoming new-generation Duster with India-specific design elements—but will also contribute to global products. Notably, the recently launched Renault R4 and R5 electric vehicles in Europe were developed in collaboration with designers from the earlier Chennai facility.

The RDCC's inauguration follows Renault’s 2024 ‘Renaulution’ strategic update, which outlined plans to launch five new models in India over two years and revamp its brand presence with redesigned ‘R-Store’ showrooms. The investment in local design infrastructure underlines Renault’s long-term commitment to the Indian market, one of the most competitive automotive sectors globally.

To commemorate the opening, Renault unveiled a sculpture titled Rethink, developed in-house at RDCC. The piece symbolises the fusion of French and Indian design philosophies, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern digital tools. Shaped roughly like an SUV, the sculpture incorporates dynamic screens displaying abstract visual patterns and text in both English and Devanagari script, underscoring the studio’s cross-cultural vision.