The joint announcement by Bajaj, Renault and Nissan about plans to develop and produce a new ultra low-cost passenger car finally puts to rest speculation about whether Mr Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of the Renault-Nissan alliance, was being serious about taking up the challenge or whether he was just indulging in a bit of wishful thinking. Mr Ghosn, who has steered the French-Japanese alliance companies to new levels of success in many global markets, is only acutely aware that the growth markets of the future for the automobile industry are all in the emerging economies of today. India, he has often said, will play a vital role in not just fuelling the demand for new automobiles, but also in developing them. The fact that Renault-Nissan is the only global car manufacturer or alliance that has dared to quite literally take up the challenge of developing and manufacturing a $2,500 passenger car says a lot about Mr Ghosn's unconventional approach to breaking new ground in the automotive industry worldwide. Admiring the autorickshaw But, what are the synergies that the three partners bring to the new joint venture company that they are planning to set up? Mr Ghosn has openly admired the frugal engineering abilities of Indian companies and one of the companies that he had chosen was of course Mahindra & Mahindra. But, he was also sold on the value proposition which the ubiquitous three-wheeled