A bevy of water-logged Renault Dusters stuck in a stockyard

If things were as it is not bad enough for car maker, the rain gods have stepped in and added to its woes. A recent report had suggested that buyers across the country have been reluctant to purchase new vehicles as traffic conditions are not the best for a new car. There are huge chances of a new purchased car getting really dirty in rain fed areas along with traffic jams and innumerable water puddles affecting its performance. Recently, a few images were released on the Internet, which depicted several brand new units of Renault Duster and Scala being half-immersed in water at a parking facility. However, no official news or update has surfaced regarding the whole incident. The rumoured location of these images is said to be the stockyard of a Renault dealer in Cochin.

It would only be natural to try and analyse the kind of damage that must have been caused to the vehicles stocked up there. One image showed futile attempts of a few people, who were trying to get the cars out of the water-logged areas. The other image was a shot of the a part of the stockyard, wherein almost around 50 cars were half-immersed in water. Industry experts feel that this might increase the waiting time for anyone purchasing a car from that particular dealership. There is a strong possibility that water might have seeped inside the engine, thereby affecting performance of the car in the long run. Also, in case the water seeps in to the interiors, the quality of the upholstery is likely to get damaged. Although these effects will not show up immediately when the model is purchased, the long run performance will certainly be hampered.

The Renault Duster has been a fortune-changing car for the French car maker in the Indian auto market. Until the launch of the compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), Renault had not been able to make any kind of significant impact on the Indian car market. However, the introduction of the Renault Duster completely transformed the auto maker's position in India. Apart from doing great business for Renault, the Duster has also set a trend, which has seen other firms launching their own compact SUVs. Industry experts feel that the Renault Duster has paved the way for other cars in this segment.

Although a grave situation for one specific dealer, this incident is hardly going to make any difference to the auto makers. It remains to be seen if any story follows up after these images gain more popularity. Some corners of the industry also feel that these pictures might be misleading and the dealer must have taken some measure to control the situation.