French automobile giant Renault and its global partner Nissan have a lot of plans for the Indian market and the former of the two has disclosed a part of its future strategies. The first and most important for Renault will be the upcoming small car codenamed as Renault B58 and will be unveiled at the 2012 Auto Expo.
Still nothing is clear about the car as the company is extremely reluctant to disclose any further but has hinted that the shape of the car will be India specific since it has been designed at company’s design studio in Mumbai and will bear least resemblance with the global line-up. The car will priced in competition with 2011 Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20 , Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Etios Liva etc. Since the car is based on the Nissan V-Platform(shared by both the brands globally), from the technical aspect the car will adopt the engine of Nissan Micra.
Now that the brand is all geared up for its small car launch, it will also expand its Oragadam facility to accommodate production of powertrains for this very new car. Apart from this news, it is also being reported that the number of dealership will also be increased to 100 by the end of 2012.
Len Curran, vice-president (sales and marketing), Renault India said,
“We are working on a India-specific hatchback, which is expected to take shape by next year. The car, which will compete with the Volkswagen Polo and Hyundai i20, will drive sales in the east,”
Later he added,
“India will become the fourth largest car market in the next three years and is one of the most important strategic market for us. We would like to penetrate all segments in the country with our range of products. Accordingly, we have set a target of having 100 dealerships across 75 cities covering 80 per cent of the market,”
Mahindra & Mahindra and Renault have already parted ways and now the responsibility is completely on the latter’s shoulders to bring the best for the Indian customers and eventually they will emerge as a successful brand in the country.
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