Renault Duster India launch could take place in July
Fresh rumours suggest that Renault India could launch Renault Duster SUV in the month of June end or early July 2012. The company had earlier planned to launch the SUV around the festival of lights that is close to Diwali this year. Renault Duster SUV will be the fourth car from the French auto cos that will be launched in the Indian car market. Speculations suggest that Renault will price Duster very aggressively; Duster is sold as an entry level SUV in most of the markets it is present in that also includes large areas in Eastern Europe. Renault has still kept the new Renault Duster price in India under the wraps which will be unveiled during its launch. In European markets Renault Duster is sold by the name of Dacia Duster, Dacia is the low cost brand of Renault in the European markets.
The domestic market will get Duster with Renault badge glued on to the boot lid. Renault Duster SUV will be packed with the 1.5 litre K9K turbodiesel powertrain that is also powering other Renault cars in India like Renault Fluence and Renault Pulse. The compact SUV is likely to come equipped with the 1.5 litre K9K engine which will be offered in two states of spike. The engine will deliver two different power and torque outputs, one would be a 85 Bhp-200 Nm output engine and other one would be the 110 Bho-240 Nm output motor. Renault is expected to bring both, front wheel drive and four wheel drive variants of the Duster SUV to India.
The 2012 Renault Duster SUV is more than four meters in length and logically will not be classified as a compact SUV. This implies that the SUV will not be benefitted by the excise duty levied on cars with less than four meters of length. Therefore Renault India will have to make sure that the SUV is tagged at a competitive price. The SUVs that will rival Duster are Ford Ecosport compact SUV and Maruti XA Alpha SUV which are expected to be launched in India during the time of Diwali. However with Renault slipping in the Duster SUV first than Ford and Maruti would definitely get the advantage. It will buy time to the French auto maker to strengthen its grip in the domestic market.
On whether this SUV will be able to perform well in India or not depends mostly on the price tag the SUV will come with. Renault until now has launched premium sedan, SUV and hatchback in India that is the Renault Fluence sedan, Renault Koloes SUV and Renault Pulse premium small car. Pulse was launched only in diesel version in the beginning of this year, in the month of January. The company also launched the petrol version of the Pulse hatchback recently in India which is pried low than the diesel version of the hatch.
Duster would be the first entry level car (in SUV segment) and the car maker has high expectations from the upcoming SUV. This could be a game changer for Renault in India as the rest three products of the French auto maker due its high price in the respective segment is not doing as good as the company had anticipated. This is the second innings of Renault in India and this time the company came as a solo player in India. Renault earlier came in alliance with Mahindra and Mahindra in India and launched the Mahindra Renault Logan sedan which did not do well. The two companies then separated their ways and Mahindra Renault Logan is now being sold under Mahindra and Mahindra with a different name, Mahindra Verito. Mahindra Verito is doing well now and is all set to be launched with a trimmed boot and will be under four meters of length. Apart from this, Mahindra will also launch a face-lifted version of Mahindra Verito sedan in India with some cosmetic touches touch here and there. Renault needs a game changer in its India portfolio which can spurt its monthly sales in India.
Reference Box: Feel free to express what you feel and expect from the new Duster SUV, read and write Renault Duster reviews on Carkahbri.com. Also browse through Renault Duster photos gallery available on Carkhabri.com.
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