19 July,2016 10:01 AM IST | | Cardekho.com
Renault has enjoyed unprecedented success with the Kwid in recent months and if a fresh report is to be believed, the French carmaker is now planning to launch at least five new models between 2017 and 2019 in India
Renault has enjoyed unprecedented success with the Kwid in recent months and if a fresh report is to be believed, the French carmaker is now planning to launch at least five new models between 2017 and 2019 in India.
The Livemint report suggests that Renault will be targeting various segments in this launching spree while even the company has not denied these claims.
Renault India managing director Sumit Sawhney said in a statement, "While I cannot divulge too many details on the future product strategy, I can confirm that we have an aggressive product plan for India, clearly demonstrating that India is one of the key markets in Renault's global expansion plans."
The report suggests that the first of these new models is likely to be a premium sedan, based on the Megane hatchback, that will replace the Fluence sedan in Renault India's lineup. It will be positioned somewhere between the likes of the Honda City and the Honda Civic.
This is set to be followed by the new generation Koleos, a premium SUV that is expected to go on sale in India sometime in 2017-end or 2018-beginning.
Based on the Renault Nissan's common module family (CMF) platform, Renault launched the new-generation Koleos in March 2016 at the Beijing Auto show. Considering the poor response to the current generation Koleos, Renault may re-engineer the car heavily to compete against the Hyundai Santa Fe and co.
The Koleos will purportedly be followed by the smaller seven-seater crossover Kaptur, to give the popular Hyundai Creta a run for its money.
The other two cars are expected to be a van-like model, to be pitted against the Maruti Suzuki Omni and Eeco in the year 2018, and a compact SUV in the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza's space during the early months of 2019.
As of now, the next major launch by Renault will be the 1.0-litre and automatic transmission avatars of the small car Kwid, later this year. Further continuing its success story, the Kwid finished fifth in the highest-selling cars last month as well; interestingly above Maruti Suzuki's popular hatchback, the Swift.
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