Renault India, which is close to a global launch of a hatchback in India, aims to double sales to about 1 lakh units by end of calendar year 2016. The company, a subsidiary of French car manufacturer Renault S.A., expects its market share to more than double to 5 per cent from the present 2 per cent.
“We are getting into a sub Rs 4-lakh category, which is the biggest category in this country. Our foray into the small car segment would help us grow tremendously, Renault India Country Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sumit Sawhney said in an interaction today.
Renault India is close to launching a hatchback both for India and global markets, which is being manufactured at its production facility in Chennai. The features of the car, which is expected to be launched in May, were not disclosed.
“India is probably one of the toughest automobile markets in the world, where the customer is excessively demanding. To succeed in a country like India, you need to set your game right, we have to bring right products…,” Sawhney added.
Renault India, which sells sedan Scala, compact sports utility vehicle, Duster and the recently launched multi-purpose vehicle Lodgy. The company has sold 1.25 lakh units of Duster till date, making the model its largest selling vehicle in India.
The automobile manufacturer is also looking at increasing the total number of outlets in India to 205 by the end of this year from the present 157, he added.
The company had also expanded its production capacity at Chennai to about 4.8 lakh this year from the earlier 4 lakh units.