Renault plans four new launches to revive sales

Mumbai: French car major Renault, which had a runaway success with its two models but facing volume headwinds since the past two years, will roll out four models, including two all-new ones, over the next 15-18 months to revive its sagging fortunes here.

Sliding demand for its all models, except the entry- level model Kwid, has eroded its market share in the country. As per the data from the industry lobby Siam, Renault India's market share has almost halved to a low 2.3 percent in FY19 down from 4.43 per cent in FY17.

In FY19, its sales plunged 22 percent to just about 82,000 units even as the passenger vehicle industry managed to grow by nearly 3 per cent, as per the Siam data.

"As part of our mid-term plan which is 2020-22, we will be launching two all-new models--the RBC (code name for the new multipurpose vehicle Triber) that will be launched in the September quarter, and the HBC (code for an unnamed new compact SUV) which will be rolled out in 2020.

That apart, we'll have a face-lift each for the Duster and the Kwid this year itself," Venkatram Mamillapalle, who took over the reins of Renault as managing director from March, said.

The mid-term plan is in force and the company has to double our market share by 2022, he underlined, and said the second leg of the revival plan is to more than double the product coverage from 24 per cent to over 50 per cent.

"We are present in only 24 per cent of the market now and we would like to take our product coverage to beyond 50 per cent by 2022," Mamillapalle said.