The French car maker, Renault has announced that it will be bringing its Duster model to India by the mid-next year. The car is due to be showcased at the 2012 Auto Expo to be held in Delhi. But prior to the showcasing or launching of the model, there is news floating around that the to-be-launched Duster will be launched in 5 different variants. The car is going to be powered by the 1.6 litre petrol and the 1.5 litre diesel engines. The 1.5 litre diesel engine is currently being used in the Fluence. Earlier, it was also used to power the Logan before the break of the tie-up with Mahindra & Mahindra.
The diesel engine is going to be available in 2 different power outputs; a entry level one producing 85 BHP of power and the top-of-line 110 BHP of power. The 110 BHPengine is the “Step 4” version of the K9K engine development. The Renault Duster is based on the Logan and has a very similar looking interior to the Logan as well. However, Renault India knows that the dull interiors won’t give a very good impression about the car. Thus, the company has planned to launch a revamped version of the product in the Indian market. For example, the power window switches for the rear passengers will be shifted to the door pad location from the front dash.
The Duster will not reap the benefit on the part of excise duty because the overall length of the car is more than 4 metres. However, Renault might price the product very aggressively for the Indian market by keeping it in the range of Rs. 7 to 11 lakhs. Renault plans to sell 50,000 units per year which includes the right-hand drive models to be launched in the UK.
Source – Autocar India
