Renault`s innings in India began with the much talked about partnership with Indian Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra. The first product from this alliance was the Logan.
The Logan did not create much buzz in the market due to its boxy looks and unappealing design, even after being a pretty durable car. Soon due to some differences, both the brands ended their partnership.
Soon after Renault entered India as a sole entity and in order to strengthen its brand positioning in the country, used their global partner Nissan’s help. Their partnership ensured that Renault had the access to Nissan`s product portfolio.
This JV brought out products like Scala and Pulse from Renault’s stable which were essentially rebadged Sunny and Micra respectively. This was the easiest and quickest way to build a decent product portfolio in India for Renault.
Then came the Duster from the Renault’s stable. The success of a completely new product in the form of Duster has made both the companies think about their future product strategy. Renault-Nissan will bring out entirely new products in the future. The new global product line up from Renault-Nissan in the compact car segment will have completely different models.
Nissan will be launching the Datsun badge which will directly complete with the recently launched Maruti Alto and Hyundai Eon. Renault on the other hand would be launching models in the B plus category and will compete with models like the Swift, Liva, Polo, and Figo.
We`ve also got news that Nissan is working on building a compact SUV on the Duster platform but will have different looks though the engine , chassis and other components would be shared. Expect this to be the new mantra for success for Renault-Nissan in India!
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Eshwar Prasad
Source: Business Line
