Renault to launch one new product for next five years

French automajor Renault said that for the next five years it will launch one new product in India.

Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Operations said that the company plans to launch at least one new product every year, over the next 5 years, beginning with some exciting product innovations starting next year.

"As we have done in the past, whatever be the product from Renault, it will be a game-changer which will redefine the segment, or create a sub-segment," said Sawhney.

He added that for Renault India is a priority market and plays an important role in its international growth.

In a short span of time, Renault has grown its presence exponentially, becoming one of the youngest and fastest growing automotive brands and the number one European brand in India.

In January to December 2016, the company has managed to gain 4.5 per cent market share and the company sold around 1.20 lakh units till November as compared to 45,000 units in 2015 and hopes to close the year with about 1.3-1.4 lakh units as compared to 53,000 units and said it on track on achieving a three-digit growth over 2015.

The growth came from Kwid largely, which accounts for 80 per cent of Renault's sales in India. The product was launched in September 2015.

The two products, which are key for the company are Duster and Lodgy, but Kwid and Duster are the ones which are driving sales.

2016 has been the biggest year for Renault in India and focus for 2017 will be to continue and build on our growth journey, reflecting, he said.

"I am cautiously optimistic about 2017, the industry would grow by around 3-5 per cent and we will surpass the industry growth," said Sawhney.

In terms of network reach, Renault grew from 205 to 270 facilities in 2016, making it one of the fastest ramp ups in the automotive industry.

The company will continue to build the network next year as well, with strategic measures to make Renault's cars more accessible to customers across the country, said Sawhney.

Sawhney said, in 2016 the company has exported around 6,000 units. The countries include Sri Lanka and Nepal and in 2017, Renault plans to export made-in-India cars to South Africa, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

From an industry point of view, he said the industry is looking forward to intermittent pro-business policy decisions, such as the vehicle scrappage policy, finalisation of GST rates and other proactive measures, which will give a further fillip to the automobile industry in the coming year.