Renault Duster Production Likely To Be Halted In Final Quarter Of 2021

The next-gen Duster could be brought to India on an accelerated timeline

• First-gen Renault Duster will complete ten years in India in 2022.

• It hasn’t received any significant updates during the time, while rivals have been improved in terms of features and design.

• The Duster is now in its facelifted second-gen version overseas.

• Renault India could temporarily discontinue the Duster which hasn’t enjoyed monthly sales of more than 500 units in the last 12 months.

• Renault could be accelerating the arrival of new-gen iteration to India.

The Renault Duster was one of the first cars that contributed to the growth of the compact SUV space in India. However, the lack of significant updates to keep up with rivals has led to its decline in terms of monthly sales and segment share. Recent reports suggest Renault is on the verge of taking a vital decision regarding the Duster’s future in India and could halt its production by October 2021.

The first-gen Duster will complete a decade in India in 2022 and we have been left wondering why Renault hasn’t given any attention to one of its earliest successes in India. Its European version was given a generational update that saw a facelift in 2021. However, we still have the first-gen Duster, which has been facelifted twice in a decade and recently, got a new 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine. It doesn’t even have the AWD variant anymore that made it one of the most capable SUVs in the segment.

2022 Renault Duster (European facelift)

While Renault is working on another generational update for the global-spec Duster, which is expected to come to India as well, the French carmaker could accelerate its arrival to our shores. Renault India’s Managing Director, Venkataram Mamillapalle, has reportedly said, “The company is working on the new-generation model and it will try to bring the new Duster to India at the earliest, and discontinuing production of the current model is to pave the way for the new vehicle.”

Renault’s immediate focus will be the Kiger, its contender in the sub-4m SUV segment. Its aggressive pricing and feature package has earned it a decent number of bookings. The carmaker would be keen to avoid further disruptions to bring down waiting times and make the most of the Kiger’s popularity. Other models such as the Kwid and Triber are also performing relatively well for Renault, unlike the aged Duster.

Currently, the Duster retails from Rs 9.86 lakh to Rs 14.25 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), close to newer SUVs such as the Hyundai Creta which has enjoyed an average monthly sales of over 11,000 units in the last six months. The only compact SUV performing worse than the Duster in monthly sales is the Nissan Kicks.

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