The Renault Lodgy has been performing very poorly in the Indian market and the MPV has failed to sell well in spite of being a very practical offering.
Renault was a one hit wonder in India till sometime back as it was only the Duster which was selling. With the launch of the Kwid, Renault’s sales have surged in the Indian market while the Lodgy too was expected to boost numbers for the French automaker. But how many units of the Renault Lodgy were sold in India last month? 0, nada, zilch, nil! From 423 units in January to 0 units!
Why such a drop in sales of the Renault Lodgy? Can’t be said but maybe buyers were rushing to buy the first generation Toyota Innova before the more expensive second gen model arrives. In order to counter the poor sales, Renault is now planning to launch a diesel automatic of the Lodgy, which will be the same powetrain that does duty on the recently launched Duster facelift.
In order to counter the poor sales, Renault is now planning to launch a diesel automatic of the Lodgy, which will be the same powerplant that does duty on the recently launched Duster facelift. So the 1.5-litre k9k mill will output 110 PS and 245 Nm, mated to the 6-speed Easy-R AMT automatic gearbox.
The Renault Lodgy Automatic will be priced at a Rs. 40,000/- premium over its manual sibling, it will return the same mileage figures as its manual counterpart. The Lodgy Automatic won’t be the first MPV to be offered with a diesel automatic as the Toyota Innova Crysta will be launched in May while the Renault will go on sale by July.
Renault is also looking at launching a new base variant of the Lodgy which will be devoid of all the bells and whistles, in order to appeal to fleet operators. Two base variants are likely to be launched and the company is also considering the introduction of a petrol model.
Renault Lodgy Automatic
– Poor sales of the Lodgy have prompted Renault to bring in more variants
– The Renault Lodgy Automatic will be equipped with an AMT gearbox
– The automatic transmission will be shared with the recently launched Duster AT
– The Easy R Lodgy will be priced at a Rs. 40,000/- premium
