Renault is now gearing up for the second phase of its India market strategy - competing in the mass market for volumes with localised models. The first phase was completed this month by establishing its brand in the premium car market with the Fluence sedan and Koleos SUV.

Products

In the first few months of 2012, the French automaker will launch an all new small car based on the same V-platform that underpins the Nissan Micra and Sunny.

Designed for the Indian market, this will compete with Maruti Suzuki's Swift and the Hyundai i20.

Mid-2012 will then see its fourth product, the entry-SUV Duster, which will compete with Mahindra's Scorpio and the Tata Safari.

According to a company dealer, the fifth product due late next year is a new sedan positioned between the Volkswagen Vento and the Swift Dzire.

In all, 12 products are likely to come in by 2014.

Target

“Our target is to reach one lakh units by 2013.

The two new vehicles will have above 60 per cent localisation and India will be the first market for this small car,” Mr Len Curran, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Renault India.

The strategy of the first two models, manufactured from imported kits at its Chennai alliance plant with Nissan, was to build a premium and aspirational brand.

The top-down entry plan was especially to undo the brand damage from the negative publicity received from its first product, Logan.

“We chose to launch only the top-end Koleos, the Bose edition (sound system), in India. This will help us build our brand, which will be important as we launch mass-segment products.

“Customers are perceiving that Renault is much different form Logan,” Mr Curran said.

With Nissan's volumes at the plant already increasing with the Micra and Sunny, a second production line is already being set up at the plant.

This will double the current two lakh unit production capacity of the first.

> roudra.b@thehindu.co.in

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