Renault-Nissan Alliance is all set to announce its next phase of invest in India in the coming weeks. A new report claims that the Alliance is set to announce an investment of close to US $500 million (Rs 4,000 crore). With this investment, the Alliance partners will introduce a new platform – the CMF-B – in India. This platform will be used to develop a new range of models from both brands, including the next-gen Renault Duster.
Next-Gen Renault Duster Details
Renault has recently discontinued the Duster nameplate from our market. The company was selling the first-gen Duster in our market. On other hand, Renault-Dacia is already selling the second-gen model in Europe and select South American markets including Brazil. We informed you earlier that Renault will skip the 2nd gen model and will only introduce the 3rd generation Duster in our market.
The new CMF-B platform will be heavily localised for the Indian market. The platform will also introduce a 3-row Renault SUV, which was showcased as the Bigster concept. This architecture will also help the alliance to locally produce electric vehicles, as the CMF-B has an electric derivative called the CMF-B EV.
Nissan will also launch a new SUV based on the CMF-B platform in the country. The next-gen Duster will rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, VW Taigun, Skoda Kushaq and the MG Astor. The company could also launch the 3-row derivative of the SUV, Bigster-sized model to rival to the Tata Safari and the Mahindra XUV700.
The CMF-B platform-based products won’t be introduced in our market before 2024-25, as localising the new platform will take time. Renault is testing the Arkana coupe crossover in India. This model could be launched in our market in 2023. The company could also introduce the Megane e-tech, an electric version of the Megane hatchback. On the flip side, Nissan Motor India has already announced that it is studying the X-Trail, Qashqai and Juke SUVs as CBU imports for the Indian market. The X-Trail is expected to arrive first in our market.
Renault-Nissan Alliance currently selling the Kiger, Kwid, Triber and Magnite, which are based on the low-cost CMF-A platform. Nissan is also selling the Kicks SUV based on the M0 platform. The joint venture is following the Skoda-Volkswagen India strategy, which successfully introduced the Kushaq, Taigun, Slavia and Virtus based on the MQB AO IN platform.
Source – AutoCarIndia
