Monday, September 12, 2011
By Pranjal Gera
Renault Duster to export from India
French auntomobile manufacturer Renault has planned to launch its SUV Renault Duster in India by mid of 2012. According to sources, India will be made the exclusive hub of manufacturing and exporting of the right handed Duster.
Renault Duster will be launched in UK by the end of 2012 under the name of Dacia, and South Africa could be the next target, although there is no confirmation of plans yet. Renault plans to launch five cars between May 2011 and Dec 2012, according to Renault India Vice President Ashish Sinharoy. He added that the company will, in the future, not miss any opportunity of manufacturing cars with made in India tag, for the global network of Renault.
Renault Duster is most likely to be priced between Rs. 8-10 Lacs to make it give competition to Mahindra & Mahindra's Scorpio. Renault Duster will have two variants with 4X2 and 4X4 versions and powerful 1.5L DCi Diesel Engine and 1.6L Petrol Engine. However, Renault Duster will feature slight changes in the looks, for the UK market.
According to experts, Renault was pleased with the quality and price of Indian local suppliers and now it wants to take advantage of their capability in development and manufacturing units in India. However, experts feel that if these local suppliers invest in technology but become more cost competitive, more and more international automobile companies can take advantage by adopting this model.
