Renault, the French auto major wants to bury their past by flooding Indian roads with their diamond logo studded cars. Their much discussed joint venture with home grown Mahindra has become history and now Renault wants to write their success story in their second stint. To ensure their re-entry a definite success Renault is ready with very a aggressive product launch plans. As per company’s recent media release, Renault is planning to launch 5 new products in a very short span of 18 months. Renault Fluence will be the flag bearer followed by Koleos SUV. The detailed timeline of Renault India’s product launches have been explained after the jump.
Renault Fluence sedan will be launched on 23rd of this month and deliveries will start in June 2011. Fluence sedan comes with head turning styling and terrific road stance. Renault India will assemble Fluence in India from CKD kits they bring from their Turkey plant. There will be diesel and petrol variants on offer, the price range may vary from Rs.12 lakh and Rs.14 lakh. Renault is known for offering stylish but value for money products. So be ready to receive a sedan with all bells and whistles like Keyless Start, Bluetooth Connectivity, dual zone climate control and four airbags. Current segment leaders like Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, VW Jetta and Skoda Laura has sufficient reasons to worry…!
Later this year, in October Renault Koleos will join Fluence. Though Renault has not divulged much details about Indian variant of Koleos, we anticipate a 2.5ltr gasoline engine under it’s bonnet hood. Our diesel loving SUV buyers may get a 2.0ltr diesel engine powered Koleos. While the petrol motor delivers 169BHP peak power the diesel engine will give 148BHP at peak. Renault may launch both six speed manual and auto box fitted Koleos in our market. The price details are awaited while this story is being prepared.
The new year will see a mini car from Renault in India. Though it is too early to say, we expect a small car based on Renault Clio or a re-engineered Clio here. This small car will satisfy all basic requirements of an Indian small car buyer starting from fuel efficient engine to nicely done interiors. In International market Renault Clio is available in 1.2ltr, 1.4ltr, 1.6ltr, 1.8ltr and 2.0ltr engine choices. The transmissions choice can be a 5 and 6 speed manual box or a 4 speed auto box.
In second half of 2012, more precisely in July 2012 Renault-Dacia Duster will land in India. Duster has been a runaway success in global market. The Duster has been widely accepted in International market due to it’s value for money nature. This five seater Crossover will be propelled by a 1.6ltr gasoline engine or a 1.5ltr diesel motor. The diesel motor is already present in India on Nissan Micra Diesel and Mahindra Verito. According to latest media reports Renault India may price the Duster between Rs.7 – 9 lakh. If the pricing is right Renault Dacia will emerge as a good alternative for Mahindra Scorpio buyers.
The fifth and last product from Renault could be the Latitude sedan. Latitude is developed on Renault-Nissan’s D-Platform and was unveiled during last year’s Moscow Auto Show. This premium sedan is currently available in Asia, Africa, Russia, Turkey, Gulf, Australia and Mexico. Renault Latitude launch may happen in September 2012. As it’s too early to speculate about specifications and pricing so we are restricting ourselves. Still we have to wait for more than an year till we get final information about Renault Latitude’s Indian arrival.
A word of caution, currently this page on Renault India’s website is displaying probable products for our market. As three products (Fluence, Koleos and Duster) are almost confirmed we have attempted to predict remaining two. Let us wait for Renault India’s official announcement.
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