Buoyed by success of Kiger, Kwid and Triber, Renault India is now planning to introduce bigger SUVs and Electric Vehicles in the country. The company is currently evaluating C segment products including SUV and EV along with alliance partner Nissan.
Speaking to ET Auto, Fabrice Cambolive, SVP Renault Brand Sales & Operations said, “if you want to grow in India in the future, it has to go in two directions – electrification and the capacity to sell cars in the higher segment.”
He further stated that the Renault Kwid electric vehicle “is still being studied” for the Indian market. Adding to it, the new genertion Renault Duster will also be launched in the country. However, the launch timeline is yet to be finalised.
Renault is currently selling the first generation Duster in India, while the international markets already have the second generation model since 2018. In fact, the company has started working on the third generation Duster SUV. It is expected to be introduced by 2023-24. This model will also arrive in our market.
Previous reports suggest that the next gen Duster will provide a very good price-to-feature ration, and will address customers looking for a simple car which can go off-road. The third-gen Renault Duster will be designed and developed on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s CMF-B platform that also underpins the Sandero.
It is likely to be offered with plug-in hybrid powertrain. An all-electric version of the SUV is also expected to be introduced in select markets. The India-spec model is likely to be offered with a turbocharged petrol engine with a mild hybrid system. A plug-in hybrid model could also be launched in our market. The company is also working on the production version of the Bigster SUV, which is likely to be launched by 2025.
