Rumour: Renault-Nissan working on CMF-A based compact sedan

In the last 1 year, the Renault-Nissan partnership has delivered two important products, the Renault Kwid and Datsun redi-GO. Both these low-cost hatchbacks are based on the CMF-A platform, which was developed under the partnership of the French and Japanese automakers. Now, reports suggest that the companies have started executing plans of developing a compact sedan based on the same platform.

This doesn't come as a surprise since Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan, had already commented that "there will be many more CMF-A cars for India”, when Renault India introduced the Kwid (the first car made on the new platform). And with the response that the Kwid got, the company's intention of producing low cost, high value cars has been fuelled further. Moreover, the recent inclination of Indian customer preferences towards petrol powered cars has given an added boost to the CMF-A platform project, as it is quintessentially built to accommodate petrol powertrains.

Though information about the CMF-A sedan is scarce at the moment, sources close to the developments suggest that the company's design centres have already started working on the new sedan's looks and profile. Reportedly, Renault-Nissan's product planners have been adamant that the new sedan is given a ground clearance of 180 mm, which is becoming a hindrance for the designers to make the car look proportionate.

But the interesting part of it all is that Renault-Nissan engineers are reportedly developing a budget-friendly mild hybrid system for the CMF-A sedan, which will be similar to the SHVS system that Maruti Suzuki is offering in the Ciaz and Ertiga.

Source: Autocar India