French carmaker Renault will launch the Lodgy MPV in the Indian car market by early 2015. It was speculated that the company will unveil the vehicle at the recently held Auto Expo. Now, the company is in a mood to enter into the growing compact MPV segment by launching the Dacia Lodgy MPV in India. Moreover, the production of this model is likely to commence by the end of this year at the company’s Chennai based manufacturing unit.
The Renault Dacia has unveiled the Lodgy MPV at the ongoing 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Internationally, the Lodgy MPV is sold under the Dacia badge; however, in India it will get the Renault tag. The vehicle is slightly bigger in size as compared to Maruti Ertiga and Honda Mobilio, which could give it a competitive edge in terms of spaciousness.
The 7-seater MPV is expected to be priced in the range of Rs. 7-9 lakh. It is likely to share its engine configuration with the Duster- a 1.5-litre dCi engine producing 85PS and 105PS, and a 1.6-litre petrol. The engine will be mated to a five-speed manual transmission gearbox, and the company might also introduce the automatic version in the market.
Like its mechanical bits, the Lodgy MPV will also share most of its components with the Duster SUV. This will help the company to achieve competitive pricing.
