Renault cars in India – For a Comfortable Drive

Renault S.A. is a French auto manufacturing company founded in 1899. The French government owns 15% of the shares and has two subsidiaries - the Automobile Dacia of Rumania and the Renault Samsung Motors of the Korea. In India, Renault started its operations jointly with Mahindra and Mahindra in 2005. The joint venture was dissolved in 2010. Renault India Private Limited (RIPL) was formed in 2010. They started a production facility jointly with Nissan in Chennai.

In 2011, RIPL started their activities in India with the sale of their sedan Fluence. The 2008 version was upgraded in 2012 and offered two diesel versions with manual transmission. At the 2014 auto expo, a third revised edition of the Fluence was showcased. In September 2011, the sale of Renault’s SUV Koleos was taken up by RIPL. However, both the diesel models of this SUV are not faring well in the Indian market.

In January 2012, the launching of the Pulse - a hatchback - took place with a base price of Rupees 4.41lakhs. Both the diesel and the petrol models fared satisfactorily in the Indian market. Following this, the launchings of the SUV Duster and the sedan Scala also took place. The SUV Duster with its two petrol and nine diesel variants became an instant hit because of its high fuel efficiency combined with the comparatively low price. The success of this SUV made RIPL to

think about introducing a Duster Facelift by the middle of 2014. The Scala, launched in 2012, is a copy of the sedan Nissan Sunny. Two of the variants of this car are fitted with automatic transmission.

The most commonly used petrol engines in Renault cars is a 4-cylinder in-line 1598 cc engine with a Multipoint Fuel injection system. A 4-cylinder in-line 1461 cc engine with a Common Rail Direct injection system is fitted on diesel variants. Both these perform well to give an average mileage of 17 kmpl for petrol and 22 kmpl for the diesel variants with manual transmission.

The Renault cars offer a smooth drive even in rough terrains. Their tested suspension system with McPherson Strut with coil springs and Anti-Roll bar at the front and the Torsion Beam Axlewith coil springs and Anti-Roll bar at the rear helps in the precise handling of the vehicle.

Renault is planning to launch a small car in 2014. It will be another variant of the hatchback Modus and will be priced just below Rupees 4 lakh. RIPL is also planning to introduce their MPV, named Lodgy, in early 2015. This car, to be manufactured on the Logan platform, is expected to have a 1600 cc petrol engine and 1500 cc K9Kturbocharged diesel engine versions.