Renault-Nissan's Alliance plant in Oragadam near Chennai on Friday rolled out its one millionth vehicles, adding another feather in its cap.

The new milestone was achieved on 8 January at 12:15 pm with the rollout of a Nissan Micra. The plant, the largest alliance production facility in the world, was built with an initial investment of Rs 4,500 crore and started operations in 2010. The Renault-Nissan alliance has since invested another Rs 1,600 crore to increase capacity with a power-train manufacturing facility and tooling. The plant, which currently has annual production capacity of 2 lakh, caters to both domestic and international markets.

The alliance, which also has a research and development (R&D) facility in Chennai, accounts for 12,000 direct jobs in Tamil Nadu and 40,000 more jobs in the Indian supplier chain.

Christian Mardrus, Chairman of Nissan's Africa, Middle East and India region, and former Alliance Executive vice-president, said, "Our Chennai facility has, and will continue, to play a fundamental role in the development of our business in India. Today's milestone reflects the popularity of Nissan and Renault products in India and export markets, as well as the skill and dedication of our staff. It is also a measure of the high level of support we have enjoyed from the Tamil Nadu government."

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The plant has rolled out 32 Renault, Nissan and Datsun models and derivatives, and the most recent model to be introduced at the plant was the popular Renault Kwid in September last year.