Renault India has announced their plans of staying focused only on core models as they consider it a waste of resources and energy to flood the market with a number of cars. Renault plans to have 8 cars in the market and focus entirely on those models. The carmaker wants to play a safe game in the Indian market as it has not met with much success apart from the Duster. Renault has been working on a small car (codenamed A Entry) for the Indian market which will be crucial for volumes and is expected to be launched in 2015.
As of now, the Duster has been the best piece of news for Renault. With sales of 5146 units in May 2013, it has emerged as the highest selling SUV in India, overtaking the Scorpio by a huge margin. It won the Best SUV award in India multiple times. This success has made India the 11th largest market globally for Renault. The next step for Renault would be to sustain this success as the Duster has earned them huge profits. With Ford announcing the EcoSport, it would surely be tough fight in the market.
The entry level car in India which would be the next big step from Renault could be the next big game-changer for the company. Renault doesn’t plan to re-badge Nissan cars in the future so a badge engineered Datsun can be ruled out. Renault plans to expand its dealership network in India as it shifts focus on customers. India is a market which demands cars to have great values. With the Duster, Renault got it right but it is now to be seen how their new strategy works out. The next launch from Renault is the Lodgy MPV next year.
The engineer behind the Logan has been given the task to develop the A Entry small car and work is on full swing. Dacia has made it very clear that it doesn’t plan to make a small car and thus Renault has the task cut out to itself to develop a well engineered and competitively priced product. The new small car will be a global product with prices starting at around Rs. 3 lakhs. The vehicle will use a 800cc petrol engine and will rub shoulders with the Maruti Alto 800 and Hyundai Eon. Currently Renault sells the Pulse (rebadged Micra), Scala (rebadged Sunny), Duster, Fluence and Koleos in the Indian market, all of which were launched in the last couple of years.
