Renault expects sales in India to shift to a higher gear in 2024

Renault, along with alliance partner Nissan, recently announced fresh investments of $600 million (about Rs 5,300 crore) in India as part of their business transformation plan. The duo plans to launch half a dozen models from the middle of this decade.

While sales volume is expected to remain flat this year, the company will start seeing an increase in sales from 2024, said Renault India managing director Venkatram Mamillapalle. “We will continue to innovate our existing line-up till the new products come in (as per the business transformation plan). We plan to re-enter the midsize SUV (sport utility vehicle) segment at the time. We expect our sales to be at similar levels like last year in 2023 and will start growing next year onwards,” he told ET.

Renault’s sales in India fell 9% yearon-year to 87,118 vehicles in 2022. At present, the company sells small car Kwid, entry SUV Kiger and MPV Triber in India.

The mid-size SUV scheduled for launch in India will take on bestsellers such as Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder. Japanese carmaker Honda has unveiled the Elevate, which is slated to go on sale ahead of the festive season this year. Mamillapalle, however, expressed confidence that Renault will be able to make a mark for itself in this intensely competitive segment despite a late entrance.

“We are trying to enter with the way we entered with Duster. We will enter this segment also with a lot of innovations,” he said.Overall, the new vehicles slated to be introduced as part of the business transformation strategy by Renault-Nissan include two internal combustion engine vehicles and one electric vehicle (EV) for each brand.Renault plans to launch its EV in the mass segment and the company will manufacture it locally to control costs. Mamillapalle said the EV market in the country is evolving. The pace of adoption of EVs will depend both on customer demand and government push towards development of an ecosystem for EVs which includes setting up an extensive network of charging stations. “About a fourth of our sales should come from EVs by 2030,” he said.

Apart from local sales, Renault also plans to leverage India as a manufacturing base and scale up exports from the country. Renault currently exports Kwid, Kiger and Triber to 14 countries in the SAARC, Asia-Pacific, Indian Ocean and East Africa regions as well as South Africa. The company exported 27,232 vehicles last year, an increase from 2021.