Renault to launch MPV Lodgy to boost sales in India

Automaker Renault India on Thursday said it will roll-out a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) 'Lodgy' and a small car this year and expects to double its sales in two years.

"India is a strong market for Renault and we have strong presence in the country. We will launch MPV Lodgy by month-end or early next month."

"After that we will also launch sub-Rs 4 lakh small car. It will be a global car," Renault India Country CEO and MD Sumit Sawhney told reporters.

Sawhney declined to comment on price of Lodgy but said MPV segment has seen consistent growth and it grew by double digit in 2014 in the domestic market. On below Rs 4 lakh car, he said: "It is in the developing stage and will be launched after nine months."

The company, which at present gets 80 per cent of its total sales from Duster, expects Lodgy to bring down this share.

"Duster has been volume driver for us. We hope the MPV will also be a volume driver with Duster. Right now 80 per cent of our sales is from Duster. We expect this share to come down when we launch Lodgy," he added.

Renault India currently sells five models - Pulse, Scala, Duster, Fluence and Koleos. Elaborating on the company's growth plans, he said the company's "vision is to achieve over 5 per cent market share in 2016.

It is 2 per cent at present." Renault, which sold about 48,000 units in 2014, expects its sales to double in two years, he added.

The company is also gearing up to strengthen its dealership network this year. "Our network right now is at 157 dealers.

We want to take it to 205 by this year. Majority of them will be in tier III and IV towns", he said.

Renault and Nissan have a manufacturing facility at Oragadam near Chennai with a joint investment of Rs 4,500 crore spread over a period of seven years.

Referring to the tie-up with Nissan, he said: "We have announced that we will not come with cross-badging of products anymore.

"We have just launched upgraded Pulse with more features and working on launching Scala with new features."

Cross badging means launching the same car with some cosmetic changes. Initially, both Renault and Nissan launched cross-badged cars under the names Pulse and Scala and Micra and Sunny.

When asked if the company will export its new products, Sawhney said: "Right now, we are shipping to some countries. Lodgy and the small car will be focused on the domestic market. But we may ship them overseas in future."

Photograph: Courtesy, Renault