The company has set a target volume of 2 lakh units by 2022.
Renault is planning big to expand its vehicle portfolio and cover a wider range of segments in the Indian market. The company is following this strategy to gain back its lost market share. Currently, Renault has a 24 percent Total Industry Volume penetration which the company aims to increase to 50 percent. The company believes the filling the gaps in the product portfolio is the key to volume sales and they have set a target of 2 lakh units by 2022. Moreover, Renault is aiming for 1 lakh units with the upcoming Triber added to the portfolio.
Renault and Nissan, its alliance partner in India depend solely on volumes to make profits in India. The Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Limited plant has an annual capacity of 4,80,000 units and it is important to fill the plant to its capacity. The poor performance of Nissan and Datsun also affects the carmaker.
Most global automobile manufacturers in India keep away from the high volume segments which have very small margins and make it hard to make profits due to the competition, especially in India, where it is ruled by Maruti Suzuki. However, Renault is still hopeful and looks for an opportunity to put it up against the market leader. Renault’s sales suffered a massive 41 percent drop in volumes from 1,35,123 units in FY17 to just 79,654 units in the last financial year.
Renault is looking to make the upcoming Triber a success. The company expects to sell 60,000 plus units in 2020, its first full year of production. The Renault Triber will be launched with only one engine option, the 1.0-litre BR10 petrol engine with a higher tune. A turbocharged version of the BR10 engine will be added to the Triber later which could also be paired with an AMT to boost further sales. Not only this, the company has also shared its plans to launch a compact SUV (codenamed – HBC) sometime in 2021. The HBC is likely to be powered by a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder turbo petrol engine. However, there is no diesel option planned for now. The company believes that small diesel engines will be obsolete by 2023 due to stricter emission norms.
Moving ahead, Renault has also hinted that a compact sedan (codenamed – LBA) could also be back in the works. The LBA is expected to use Renaults’s CMF-A platform that was first seen underpinning the Kwid and comes with similar powerplant options like the HBC. With the HBC and LBA, the company is looking for a massive jump in its volumes. Nissan is also planning a few products which use the same platform.
Meanwhile, Renault will introduce another facelift of the Duster here in India. The second generation Duster which is on sale in International markets will not be launched in India. The company is also considering the third generation Duster to be moved from the company’s MO platform to the alliance’s CMF-B platform. This will be done to ensure higher global sales as the MO platform is available only in select markets. On the other hand, CMF-B is a global platform and will allow more body styles and export opportunities.
Renault Compact Sedan
– Renault is planning to increase its market share in India with the launch of new products
– Renault will launch the Triber, HBC compact SUV and LBA compact sedan in India
– Might switch from the MO platform to the CMF-B global platform for the third-gen Duster
Source – AutocarIndia.com