Renault India Working on MPV 'Lodgy' and 'Modus' Hatchback

French carmaker Renault that has launched a total 5 vehicles in the last 15 months, is now working on a few more products, and two of them are the multi-utility vehicle, 'Lodgy' and 'Modus' hatchback, expected to come by the first quarter of 2015, however, the Modus can come even earlier. CarDekho had already brought you the spy pictures and details of the Modus hatchback, which was caught doing test mules in India.

Renault that has tasted the success with the launch of its compact SUV, Duster now aims to bring in the MPV Lodgy, which will take on the likes of Toyota Innova, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and others. Two people familiar with the matter disclosed it to ET that the company is aiming to sell about 35,000 units of the MPV Lodgy, which is currently codenamed as J92. Other than the Lodgy, the company is also working on an entry level car, possibly the 'Modus' to target the masses, which is also likely to come by 2014-end or early 2015. Industry experts believe that the Lodgy should be priced between Rs 7 lakh and Rs. 11 lakh as it will share most parts and the platform with the Duster.

However the company's MD, Marc Nassif declined to share the exact details on the models or the segment they are targeting, he said. "We will take the direction of where the market is going, right now the market is moving to SUV and you look at our performance. MPV will see a huge trend and Renault will have to find a solution to go wisely and also find out what is best in our DNA to go into small cars."

Speaking on the same, a leading automotive consultant said, "UVs (utility vehicles) are the toast of the town. It is the only segment in the overall Indian passenger vehicle space which is growing. With as many as 8-10 major utility vehicles hitting the market over the next few years, Lodgy is an ideal fit for India," Nassif pointed to the upcoming competition, saying, "Many launches (in the UV segment) are going to happen this year, so we cannot fall asleep. On our part, we are gathering speed on Duster... we would like to maintain the momentum. More products are coming, new evolutions on products are happening, you will see that later in the year."

"We are aspiring to more than double our numbers in 2013. While we harness the potential of Duster this year, we would also like to improve our market share in other segments we are operating in," said Sumit Sawhney, Renault India's executive director-marketing.

The research firm IHS Automotive's Managing Director, Deepesh Rathore Said that Renault India's sales has been majorly driven by the Duster and the company needs to focus on other segments as well. "Considering that A Entry small car as well Lodgy MPV will be catering to more value conscious buyers, Renault should come down the perch of premium tag and convince the prospective buyers that they can deliver a better car than the market leader at a comparable price. The other critical aspect will be to make sure there is adequate dealership penetration and the spares are readily available at affordable price," Rathore said.

This is all what we have for now, so stay tuned to CarDekho for all the latest updates on Renault India's upcoming cars.

Source: ET