Renault recently confirmed its plans to launch 5 new cars in India in the next couple of years. The first to hit the streets would be the Fluence, which would be launched on the 23rd of this month. The Renault Fluence will compete with the Skoda Laura, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and the upcoming new Volkswagen Jetta. However what is interesting to note is the strategy Renault had adopted with the Fluence. The French automaker will offer only two variants of the Fluence and believe it or not, the diesel will be cheaper than the petrol variant. Depending on the market response, the company will follow up with more variants later.
What Renault plans to do is, offer the base variant in diesel and the top variant in petrol. This would certainly push sales of the Fluence sky high as most buyers look at fuel efficiency rather than features. Case in point is the Swift Diesel, which inspite of being offered without even basic features has been an instant hit. Further more, Renault’s Senior VP has confirmed that they will price the Fluence below its Western European rivals. That is an indirect way of saying that the Fluence will be priced around the Rs. 14 lakh mark.
The Renault Fluence Diesel will utilize the Logan and Micra’s 1.5 liter dCi motor mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. This engine will be tuned to develop 105 bhp of power and will deliver an excellent fuel efficiency of 21.84 kmpl (Toyota Corolla Altis now has some serious competition). The Fluence Petrol will use a 2.0 liter motor which produces 137 bhp of power and mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Interesting features on the car include keyless start, dual zone climate control, front and side airbags and Bluetooth connectivity. The Fluence will be assembled from CKD kits, which Renault will import from their Turkey plant. Local content is expected to increase in the near future to ensure the Fluence remains competitive.
