Carmaker Renault which has a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra for making Logan sedan for Indian market is planning to restructure the partnership with the Indian company.

The French automaker has also announced that it will operate in the country with its own dealer network. It plans to start with 15 dealers by mid-2011 and increase to 150 in the next 30 months, the company said.

The company expects that Indian market to triple in size in the next decade and it does not believe that it is a late entry into the market.

The company’s model Logan made a good start in the Indian market but its sales have decreased since 2008. This is mainly due to the high prices because of a 20 percent duty on the car which is more than 4 metres in length.

The company said that it will not comment on the type of restructuring to take place but the solution will be "extremely positive" for both companies.

The partnership has over 110 dealers across India for Logan. M&M has said in a statement that it has confidence in the car and that it would continue to sell through its current network.

Meanwhile, Renault and Nissan Motor Co of Japan in which the company owns a 44 percent stake have announced plans to manufacture a low cost car for the Indian market in partnership with two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto. The car is expected to be launched by 2012.

Renault is also building a plant near Chennai in alliance with Nissan in which the two firms will invest 45 billion rupees over seven years. The plant will have an annual capacity of 400,000 units. The plans for second production line in the plant would be determined by the market response.

Nissan was involved in the construction of the plant even as Renault had frozen its investment in the plant for more than a year.

Renault is planning to launch several models in the Indian market within 18-24 months through the facilities build by Nissan which are to be ready by May this year. Renault had announced at the Delhi Auto Expo that it will launch Fluence and the cross-over Koleos in the Indian market by 2011.