Renault to establish new Indian distribution alone

Renault Fluence – a sedan version of the Megane

New entries in the price sensitive and Suzuki-dominated Indian market more often meet failure than success but it doesn’t mean if you fail once you must give up. Renault will go solo in in its second attempt to make some good headway in the Indian market, after a JV with Mahindra to sell its sole offering the Renault Logan failed to make any significant headway. Earlier this year, the 51:49 Mahindra Renault JV announced that it would be restructuring its operations, after reporting a loss of 4.9 billion Rupees in the 08/09 financial year.

“Today we would like to reaffirm our intention to be a long term player in India, by announcing our plans to set up an exclusive Distribution Network for Renault cars that will be introduced in the Indian market. We will create an extensive nationwide distribution network in the next 30 months, to ensure our customers are assured of seamless service,” said Marc Nassif, Country GM and MD of Renault India.

Renault will be launching a few new cars in India in the next 2 years, and is set to offer a “full range” within 4 years. The Logan will probably continue to be sold by the Mahindra JV. The first “Mahindra-free” cars to be launched are the Renault Fluence (lowered-cost Megane sedan shown above) and the Renault Koleos, both of which will be available in 2011. They will be produced at a Chennai facility shared with Nissan. Naturally, a small car to compete with the likes of the Hyundai i10 is in the works.

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