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Renault has drawn up an aggressive product strategy for India, which will begin with the launch of the Fluence on Monday.
The French automaker had entered the country in 2005 through a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra to produce the Logan. Nothing much came out of it though Renault insists this was not a completely wasted effort.
“Obviously, we were not happy with what we delivered the first time around with the Logan but it helped us in our learning in terms of having the right people, understanding the market and so on. In my view, the Fluence marks the real first phase of our innings here,” Mr Marc Nassif, Managing Director of Renault India, told Business Line .
Koleos SUV
October will see the Koleos SUV make its debut though 2012 will be the ‘really important year' as it will see three new products hit the roads. These will include a hatchback in the B plus segment (now taken up by the Polo, Swift, Figo, i20 etc) and, in all likelihood, the Dacia Duster SUV.
“We are already working aggressively on the three cars coming into the market next year while getting everything in place for the Fluence and Koleos this year. The first phase will focus on high-end quality and visibility while 2012 will be about volumes,” Mr Nassif said.
Brand build-up
According to Mr Sudhir Rao, Chief Operating Officer, the journey thus far has been especially satisfying from the viewpoint of dealer response and their faith in the Renault brand. “We have been absolutely transparent and sincere with our dealer partners who know that there are structures in place to benefit from the investment,” he said.
Mr Len Curran, Vice-President (Sales & Marketing), said the top-down product strategy was deliberate. “The first two cars are not numbers-driven but will tell customers more about Renault and the brand. We will then play the volumes game to take advantage of the brand build-up thereafter,” he said.
B segment
Renault has already indicated that its next focus is on the B segment, which is around the Rs 3-lakh category. In addition, work is under way on an affordable car that will be in the Rs 2-3 lakh range. The ultra-low cost car with Bajaj Auto is not part of this product plan yet and, in any case, it will be produced in the two-wheeler maker's Aurangabad facility.
“The real challenge is going below Rs 4-lakh. I would think that between Rs 2 and 4 lakh, there could be at least 2-3 different segments,” Mr Nassif said.
India, along with Brazil and Russia, is among the top three markets for Renault's international expansion plans. The country is a key sourcing base for Europe and wheels are already being shipped from Chennai to Brazil.
By 2013, Renault has targeted India to be its 11th largest market, a position now being occupied by Argentina. If the script works out to plan, Brazil will replace Germany in the second place while Russia will have jumped five places to the fourth slot.
“India is one of the main strategic countries for Renault and the work done here will support that ambition. My understanding is that customers here are receptive to new products and change which means that our timing is spot-on,” Mr Curran said.
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