[dZired]

Renault has decided to step into the small car segment in the Indian market very soon. The company is developing a small car which will be powered by a 800cc engine and will compete with the Maruti Alto, Hyundai Eon and Chevrolet spark. The car has been codenamed "A Entry and the company engineers are trying to develope an engine with high fuel efficiency (nearly 20kmpl). This small car will be positioned below the companies premium hatchback pulse which is already present in the Indian market. It will be priced around 3lacs and can hence provide stiff competition to other cars un the segment.

After the duster, the entry of this new car in the small car segment (which contributes around 40% of the Indian car market) may open the doors of success for the French car maker.

[amtak]

This is good news. Can they not launch the Sandero at around this price point? I am not asking for a top of the line model to be priced at 3 lakhs but the base model. It is quite difficult to get hold of 800 CC segment now, Alto 800, EON, TATA Nano (660) etc etc...

[vikramv1]

Originally Posted by amtak

This is good news. Can they not launch the Sandero at around this price point? I am not asking for a top of the line model to be priced at 3 lakhs but the base model. It is quite difficult to get hold of 800 CC segment now, Alto 800, EON, TATA Nano (660) etc etc...

I agree. I very much doubt the veracity of Renault to launch the 800 cc car at similar price points of the Santro/i10/Eon/Alto/Nano etc... We have all seen Renault's pricing strategy in Fluence and Pulse where they have it horribly wrong.

They will have atleast 18-24 months to think of it as this is slated for launch only in 2014-15. By then, i would have expected the markets to be a bit saturated too. Dont know how much new volumes they will be able to garner.

[S@ndy]

I doubt if such thing would happen. Just imagine, to handle the volumes of sub 3-lakh rupee cars, one needs a large no. of showrooms and service stations. Maruti, Tata and Hyundai were able to do so as they had experience in this field and had enough service stations to handle the bulky volumes. Renault, a minor player here, first needs to revamp it's sales and service outlets. And if they have decided to do so, they must atleast wait till 2014-15 until they get some experience from Indian market.

S@ndy

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by amtak

This is good news. Can they not launch the Sandero at around this price point? I am not asking for a top of the line model to be priced at 3 lakhs but the base model. It is quite difficult to get hold of 800 CC segment now, Alto 800, EON, TATA Nano (660) etc etc...

I feeel it may be a basic car developed specifically for our market. Sandero is quite a big car for this segment, and may not come in the said price range around 3 lakhs.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by dZired

Renault has decided to step into the small car segment in the Indian market very soon. The company is developing a small car which will be powered by a 800cc engine and will compete with the Maruti Alto, Hyundai Eon and Chevrolet spark. The car has been codenamed "A Entry and the company engineers are trying to develope an engine with high fuel efficiency (nearly 20kmpl). This small car will be positioned below the companies premium hatchback pulse which is already present in the Indian market. It will be priced around 3lacs and can hence provide stiff competition to other cars un the segment.

After the duster, the entry of this new car in the small car segment (which contributes around 40% of the Indian car market) may open the doors of success for the French car maker.

Good News to see other manufacturer interested and trying to get into this segment which indeed is the bread and butter segment of India. Launching a 800cc car within 3 lacs that too Renault would take time and a little homework for the engneers as to how to get into that price bracket without hampering quality and standards. No major cost cutting must be seen for keeping its name on the sales chart month-on-month.

Alto being a segment leader itself finds it difficult to handle market (thanks to the manesar issue) lets see by when can Renault launch this 'Entry'!

[amtak]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I feeel it may be a basic car developed specifically for our market. Sandero is quite a big car for this segment, and may not come in the said price range around 3 lakhs.

VB-San, I am not asking for the top of the line model to be priced at 3 lakhs; a bare bones model with a starting price of 3.XX lakhs would be a good proposition.

However, somehow I feel, it would be nothing but renault/Dacia version of Datsun cars

[tachobells]

I'm not sure if there is a huge market for < 3 lakh cars in the future.
Renault and many more western manufacturers may be still thinking of India as an entry level car market, but lately, the momentum is shifting one segment up IMO.

Look at the numbers for Nano, Santro, Spark, Eon and M800 (before it stopped). Only Alto is doing good because of the Maruti brand. Again, we saw Swift topping Alto just a month or two back.
Renault can't easily hook first time buyers. A 3 lakh car needs volume to survive.

Also, cost conscious buyers don't want anything less than a diesel car. Else they're happy with a two wheeler.

Looks like those who can afford a car can afford a 5 Lakh car these days.
And those who can't afford a car (or don't want a car) don't even want a 1.5 Lakh car.

My 2 cents.

[dZired]

Some more speculations about Renault's new entry.

Renault might bring a rival of Tata Nano, there are now reports confirming that the French Auto giant eyes to launch a low cost car in the country in the coming years, that would be priced quite close to that of Tata Nano and would be its direct competitor. It is expected that Renault would develop the low cost car jointly with its global partner, Nissan and the Nano competitor would be priced about US $3,800 (Rs. 2.1 lacs).

While Renault has not confirmed anything about its Nano rival, speculations are already rife that the car may be launched by the end 2014. The low cost car from the French auto giant would not only be sold in country, but exported to foreign markets as well.

SOURCE

[volkman10]

Renault's small car program to take on Alto and Eon -

Renault's new "sub-entry" architecture will offer roomier cars for a similar price tag and spawn at least one additional model for Nissan.

Gerard Detourbet has a new mission: to devise an even cheaper vehicle program for India that can compete with such champions of frugality as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai

"India is the only country where you begin to see modern cars at this kind of price," Detourbet said. "Once you've done battle with the world's best cheap car manufacturer, you can go into another country where there isn't a Maruti Suzuki and be relatively comfortable."

Renault scrapped a production venture with Mahindra & Mahindra in 2008, then discussed plans with Bajaj to build an ultra-cheap car to counter Tata Motors' $3,000 Nano. That project was abandoned last year, as the Nano itself fell far short of Tata's sales objectives.

http://www.autonews.com/article/2012...#ixzz2FGtBJNKt]

[volkman10]

Buoyed by the success, the company has now set its sights on having a portfolio of 7-8 cars in India in the next five years, with an entry-level car at the centre of its strategy.

Code-named A Entry, the car is expected to be powered by an 800 cc petrol engine.

The company is alternatively working on an MPV codenamed J92, which is expected to be a derivative of Dacia Lodgy.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/20582020.cms

[PNTLovesNano]

I believe that in the long run, any company needs to have cars in all the categories. No matter how saturated the market be, if you don't have a car in the category that your competitor, you will not get the footsteps of that category in your showroom simply because you don't have a car in that category. This is also another aspect where Tata failed royally. When they entered the passenger car category, starting with Indica, who asked them to stop being very active in the SUV segments and completely hand over it on a platter to Mahindra?

Having said that, if your brand is already too niche enough, you don't have to worry about being present in every category, for example the BMW, Merc and Audi. Isn't this again the problem of Honda who got confused over their status in India. This Brio should have been launched at least some 7 years ago if not 10. I am sure if Brio would have launched in a year or two of Swift, Honda would have been well off today.

[JayPrashanth]

Link to News Section

While the French automaker Renault is basking in the success of the Duster SUV, it doesn't want to be labelled as a one car wonder. Currently, Renault sells five car models in India: the Pulse, Scala, Duster, Fluence and Koleos. While the Duster is by far the biggest success for Renault in India, the car maker's other models continue to be also-rans in the hugely competitive Indian car market. To move beyond the Duster, Renault will need something special.

Although the Duster has propelled Renault to the top ten (by sales) list of Indian car makers, the competition in the compact SUV space is set to rise in a big way. Naturally, de-risking is the name of the game. Second in command at Renault after Mr Carlos Ghosn, Mr Carlos Tavares, the COO of the French automaker, has hinted at two new products for the Indian car market. By 2018, Renault hopes to have 7 or 8 cars being sold in India.

With 5 cars already on sale, the new cars include a small car dubbed the A-Entry and an MPV based on the Dacia Lodgy. These cars will take Renault's focus away from a single hot segment (compact SUV) to two other big volume segments (entry level small cars and MPVs). Unofficial product launch timelines for these products have been doing the rounds for quite some time now even as Renault remains tight lipped about the same.

Launching into the finer details, the A-Entry small car could use an 800cc petrol engine. The new small car is expected to sit under the Pulse hatchback, Renault's current entry level model. Aimed at the high volume B-segment hatchback space, the A-Entry will have to contend with formidable competition that includes big names such as the Maruti Alto 800 and the Hyundai Eon. A high amount of localization and production at the Renault-Nissan joint manufacturing facility at Oragadam is likely for the A-Entry small car.

Renault's alliance partner , Nissan, will join the entry level small car space in 2014, with not one but two car models badged with Datsun plates. The Datsun K2 and I2 small cars will sit below Nissan's least priced product in India, the Micra hatchback. Renault, for its part is rumoured to have kept June 2015, as the internal deadline for the A-Entry's launch in India. The car is said to be India specific with Renault open to selling the model worldwide in case the car succeeds in India.

Mr Tavares, speaking to the EconomicTimes, has emphasized on how important it is to deliver value to the Indian car buyer, who is now exposed to the latest trends and features on cars, what with a slew of international brands operating in the country post the economic liberalization. So, the A-Entry small car from Renault could be a contemporary product engineered with frugal principles. This formula is a similar approach that Nissan is said to be using for the Datsun low cost car range.

Coming to the other major product launch from Renault, the J92 code named Dacia Lodgy based MPV is expected to make an Auto Expo 2014 debut. The MPV, which is already on sale in Europe, uses the second generation Dacia Logan's underpinnings (M0 Platform) and serves as a low cost MPV in many parts of Europe. The MPV is available with petrol and turbo diesel (1.5 Liter K9K) engine options. A five door-7 seat layout is what the J92 Dacia Lodgy based MPV could offer.

Delving into the M0 platform that underpins the Lodgy, the new platform has been derived from the earlier B0 platform that underpins Dacia cars such as the Logan I and the Duster. The M0 platform hosts Dacia's new range of cars such as the Logan II, Sandero II and the Lodgy. Both the B0 and M0 platforms are stretched versions of Renault-Nissan's jointly developed B-platform. As is evident, parts and platform sharing are the overarching philosophies of Renault-Nissan and the allied brands that the car makers operate across the globe.

[volkman10]

Renault A-Entry small car poised for end-2015 launch in India; Brazil, South Africa next.

Dubbed the A-Entry, the 800 cc petrol engined hatchback will be based on the Common Module Family A (CMF-A), which it will share with the Datsun RediGo hatchback.

Mr. Gerard Detourbet, who was instrumental in the Dacia Duster and Logan projects, will spearhead Renault’s new entry level car project. The A-Entry will hit the Indian market first, by the end of 2015, after which it will be launched in emerging markets across the globe. Brazil and South Africa are two such emerging markets that are on Renault’s radar currently. The Renault A-Entry small car will be built at the Renault-Nissan joint manufacturing facility at Oragadam, off Chennai, alongside the Datsun RediGo.
The A-Entry will be one of the two big volume products that Renault has lined up for the Indian car market in 2015. The other product is the Lodgy MPV

http://www.cartoq.com/renault-a-entr...h-africa-next/

[swiftnfurious]

1. I would like to know what is their definition of "volume" in the first place. They have such a thin dealer network and what is their target?

2. Again, Maruti - Alto is known for cheap cost cars, but Renault?

3. Maruti treats even the Alto customer like kings. How does Renault treat their 10L product customer?!

I am NOT really sure they have done their home work properly!