Renault had recently announced aggressive plans for India. The company has been on a hiring spree, picking up workforce from the best of the industry. The French automaker will unveil its small car at the 2012 Auto Expo and has codenamed it B58. The Renault small car will utilize the underpinnings of the Nissan Micra (V-Platform) and will use the same engines which power the Micra. However, the design has been done at Renault’s design studio in Mumbai and the small car will compete directly with the new Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20 and Volkswagen Polo. The Oragadam facility is being expanded to incorporate production of powertrains of the upcoming vehicle.
How will the Renault small car look is still a mystery but its certain it will not have any similarities to the company’s existing range of vehicles. The design will be adapted for Indian conditions and will be done in line with the taste of Indian consumers. The company plans to rapidly expand its dealership network, taking it to 100 by the end of 2012. The Renault small car could form the basis for the introduction of a C-segment sedan, which could sit neatly alongside the upcoming Nissan Sunny. As always pricing will be the key and Renault plans to recover significant portion of its investments by exporting the B58 to some of the BRIC countries.
