Nissan will invest in Renault EV unit even though IPO scrapped, CEO says

By Praveen Paramasivam and Daniel Leussink

ORAGADAM, India, March 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Nissan Motor will invest in the electric vehicle unit of alliance partner Renault even though the French carmaker has decided not to list the unit, Nissan's CEO said on Wednesday.

"We want to further our growth in Europe, we want to further have the leverage from the alliance," Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida told reporters during a press briefing in the southern Indian city of Chennai.

"Therefore, regardless of the IPO whatsoever, we are looking at Ampere. We are already discussing about Ampere, our investment."

The first visit to India by the chiefs of Renault and Nissan reflects the importance of the South Asian nation as a growth market, especially as carmakers face rising competition from Chinese rivals.

Earlier this year, Renault ditched plans to list its electric vehicle business Ampere because of sluggish stock market conditions.

The carmaker's chairman said last month that the decision would not delay investments from Nissan or Renault's other long-time partner, Mitsubishi. (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Oragadam and Daniel Leussink in Tokyo; writing by Varun Hebbalalu; editing by Jason Neely)