Riding on the success of its compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) Duster, Renault is now hoping to gain a market share of over 3 per cent, sources have claimed. The French automobile manufacturer is planning to achieve this feat in the next three to five years. It must be mentioned that, till date, Renault's share in the Indian market is below its global average.
Before the launch of Renault Duster, the presence of this auto company in the domestic market was quite low as compared to big names like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors. However, all of a sudden, there was a huge impact on the market with the launch of compact SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) Duster. This model reaped the benefit of the rising popularity of utility vehicles among domestic customers. A lot of experts believe that the success of Duster that created a platform for the likes of Ford EcoSport and Nissan Terrano to succeed. In fact, with these two popular vehicles rowing with a roar, other auto makers are also trying to be a part of this growing segment.
The share of 3 per cent in the Indian automobile market is solely a projected number for Renault. Analysts feel that the actual number might vary depending on how things turn out to be over this speculative time duration. In fact, to be more precise, the realisation of goals set by the auto company for itself will depend on the success of its upcoming launches and market conditions. Experts are of the opinion that if things go as they are going now for Duster, achieving the set target should not be an uphill task.
As per reports, Gilles Normand, Renault Senior Vice President, Chairman of Asia-Pacific Region, gave some insight to the company's goal. He said, “Our global market share was around 3.2-3.3 per cent globally last year. So, as long as we are below 3.2 per cent market share in India we are not matching our global average. So obviously our first objective is to reach this level as soon as it is possible.” At present, it must be clearly mentioned that the auto company's market share in India is around 2.3 per cent. Also, a peek at the overall volume of the Indian passenger car market suggests that total sales stood at 27 lakh units in the fiscal 2012-13.
The company has not hidden the target of over 3 per cent; rather, it has just passed out a prediction based on 'the foreseeable future'. Commenting on the same, Normand said, “I think we can reach this level in the foreseeable future. We can see it happening in the next 3-5 years depending upon the market and on the success of models which we will keep introducing in the market.” He also added, “India is a very new market for Renault and the auto major wants to build everything at an appropriate pace.” This remark, especially words 'appropriate pace’, also suggest that while the auto make is eyeing a potential growth in the country, there would not be any compromise in terms of the quality of products launched. With this in mind, Normand rightfully said, “We don’t want to be reckless; we don’t want to do crazy things. We want to build customer base and high quality products at appropriate pricing.”
Currently, Renault India Private Limited sells five models in India. The names of these vehicles are Pulse, Scala, Duster, Fluence and Koleos. The auto company sold 35000 units in the last year and is now expecting a total sale of around 65000-66000 units in the current year. Now, the auto company is also ready to fully tap the potential of the briskly growing multi-utility vehicle segment in the Indian auto market. It is also quite keen to get a strong foot-hold in an influential sub-Rs. 4 lakh car market that caters to the common mass of the country.
Indicating that auto company will be adopting aggressive market strategies for the future products, Normand said, “We are very serious about India.” He also added, “The objective now is to make sure that in the next introduction of cars, we want to enter the significant segments or growing segments where we are not present today.”
