French carmaker Renault today unveiled their latest product in the Indian market the hatchback Triber, which will however feature a third-row of seats. The French carmaker is claiming that this seven-seater is the most versatile car in its class and Venkatram Mamillapalle, Managing Director, Renault India believes that the carmaker has another hit on their hands. Featuring a three-cylinder one-litre petrol engine with 72PS of power, the Triber will be available in four variants with prices starting at Rs 4.95 lakh and go up to Rs 6.49 lakh, significantly undercutting both the Hyundai i10 Nios and Maruti-Suzuki Swift.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Mamillapalle said that he expects demand from rural India to be a major driver for Renault going forward. “Indian cities are very congested and many youngsters in cities are now looking at shared mobility options, but we believe there are opportunities in smaller towns and rural India. Today 30 per cent of our sales come from rural areas and that number will only increase.” With the carmaker having plans to double the number of outlets it has from 350 to 700 by the end of 2020 serving 330 cities and towns across the country it also plans to double its marketshare with products like the Triber and others in the pipeline. “Several new outlets will be on the ultra-light and light asset models, which will also help our existing dealers expand”, he added.
Mamillapalle also spoke about the dramatic decline in car sales and whether the slew of measures by the Finance Ministry will help. “I believe the short-term actions being taken by the Finance Ministry will give an impetus to demand. The slowdown in sales was something we could see ever since demonetisation and the decline of the real-estate sector. There has also been confusion around BS4 and BS6 and an overall negative sentiment. One reason I am bullish about future prospects is because I feel the real-estate sector is recovering in smaller towns and rural areas, which also is a reason for our rural push.” Renault India plans to start producing BS6 vehicles from early-2020 and has also announced that they, like Maruti-Suzuki, will be withdrawing from the diesel segment entirely from April, 2020 when BS6 emission norms come into force.