drive
Renault seeks to conquer India with new budget car
Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn at the launch of Kwid in India. – AFP Relaxnews pic, May 21, 2015.Renault launched its first budget car developed specially for India on Wednesday, seeking to expand its foothold in the huge but highly competitive market.
Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn described the Kwid as "a car for conquest" designed to deliver high-volume sales as the French auto giant tries to grow its share of the Indian market.
The Kwid, the first Renault car to have its global launch in India, will go on sale in the second half of the year priced at 300,000 rupees (RM17,000).
"India is not an easy market but we ... decided to play a role on this market," he said at the launch in the southern city of Chennai – India's car-making hub.
"This vehicle is a global car, if we make it in India, we will surely make it in all the world," he continued, adding the country could be the world's fourth-biggest car market within five years.
Renault cars currently account for around 1.5% of sales in India but the company aims to swiftly increase that to 5% with the Kwid and a new family car called the Lodgy.
However, it faces strong competition in the small car sector from the Indian-Japanese manufacturer Suzuki-Maruti which holds 45% of the market and from Korea's Hyundai.
Renault went to great lengths to develop the Kwid in India to keep costs down.
It will go on sale in India first before being rolled out across South Asia. If it is a success it could be launched in other emerging markets.
Foreign automakers have made a beeline for India in the last two decades, seeking to tap a vast market in the country of 1.25 billion people and leverage its low workforce costs.
India's car market grew by almost five% in the last financial year with 2.6 million cars sold. Renault sold almost 45,000 vehicles in the financial year ending March 2015, most of them the Duster SUV.
Ghosn said India was the only country outside China capable of growth rates of more than 6% a year.
"(The Kwid) was developed close to its market. Supplier sourcing in India has been raised to 98%. We can't be competitive if we don't use the resources in India." – AFP Relaxnews, May 21, 2015.
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