Cracking the Indian market is no easy feat, with Suzuki having such a tight grip. With very steep import duty, importing is out of the question so local assembly is the only option. For that reason, most manufacturers are not represented here.
For Renault-Nissan the solution was to build a factory that could be shared, saving on costs. A plant was set up in Chennai. Reanult, Nissan and Datsun* cars have been made there. Let's see how the Renault model range developed.
2011: The beginning.
Fluence: A smallish saloon car that wasn't the type of car that is popular in the country. It was a start got things up and running until more suitable cars came on stream. It came to the end of its life in India by 2014.
Koleos: This medium sized SUV was in much the same category as the Fluence in not being the ideal fit for what was needed. sales certainly reflected that and it too came to a n end in 2014.
2012: Things took off with three new models.
Duster: The compact SUV that was popular elsewhere was likewise successful here. Sales reached 50,000 in 2013 before falling back to 40,000 a year later. It was what Renault needed to really kickstart its move into India.
Pulse: This was a Nissan Micra rebadged for Renault. It had reason to succeed but after reaching 6,000 sales in 2012 fell away sharply with barely a pulse. It ended its disappointing time here in 2017. At least using a Nissan model saved the set up costs associated with a completely new model.
Summary: Renault quickly climbed to 2.6% of the total market by 2013 but stalled and its share fell back to 1.8%. Was this a temporary glitch or a harbinger of declining fortunes ahead? The next article can be found by clicking here.
*For coverage of Datsun India, simply click here.
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