Renault tags India as one of its top three markets

Renault considers India among the pivotal markets and has launched innovative models to please the Indian buyers. With Renault breaking cover of its Duster in Jaipur on July 8, 2012, the French car maker released its first compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in India within 12 months of its last launch in Rajasthan. The automotive company is betting high on the new SUV to increase its market share in the sector.

Vice-President (VP), Sales and Marketing, Renault India, Len Curran, said, “Duster promises to give comfort and sophistication of sedan and robust and ruggedness of SUV. It is perfectly matches with the taste of people here. We are quite optimistic about our success from Rajasthan.”

Around 4-5 per cent of the total sales volume of the company comes from Rajasthan. Renault has priced the base variant of its SUV at Rs. 7.33 lacs (ex-showroom) in the state. The diesel variants will be available with two powertrains viz. 1.5 litre and 1.6 litre units, and these models will respectively cost Rs. 7.33-8.19 lacs and Rs. 8.15 lacs-11.29 lacs.

Expressing his views on the launches, Curran stated, “India is among the three most important markets for us. All the European auto makers are looking for markets outside and obvious choices are Russia, China and India.” He further added that the country is crucial for the company because of its fast growing auto market. He hinted that the French car maker will launch five new models before the year 2012 ends. The car maker is also choosing its dealers with utmost care so as to ensure delivery of top-notch services to its customers.

After severing ties with its erstwhile partner in India, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Renault is now working towards strengthening its position in the country. With the successive new launches, the company is trying to position itself as a complete brand. Curran said that this was the first objective set by the brand after the fallout with M&M and it has successfully achieved the same. However, now the company is focussed upon achieving the targeted sales figure of 10,000 units by 2013.

Renault has set its eyes upon other Asian markets as well and will be exporting the cars manufactured at its Chennai plant to the nearby countries. The major concern here is a weak dealer base and the low sales in European markets which may hinder the fulfilment of the company's objectives.