Renault SA Thursday introduced its Koleos sport-utility vehicle in
India, taking on Toyota Motor Corp., BMW AG and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
in the fast-growing premium SUV segment in Asia's third-biggest
automobile market.
The Koleos, powered by a 2.0-liter diesel engine, will be available in New Delhi showrooms for 2.3 million rupees ($50,000), the company said. Deliveries of the vehicle will start within 10 days, Sudhir Rao, chief operating officer at Renault India Pvt., said in a press conference.
In terms of pricing, the Koleos will compete with Toyota's Fortuner, BMW's X1 models and Mitsubishi's Outlander.
Sport-utility vehicles are getting increasingly popular in India because of growing demand for off-road travel. The segment has been largely insulated from the recent slowdown in local vehicle sales due to higher lending rates and fuel prices. Renault said sales in India's premium SUV segment are growing at a rate of 120%.
The SUV is the company's second vehicle in the Indian market after the premium sedan 'Fluence', which was launched in May this year. It has so far sold 700 units of 'Fluence'.
The 'Koleos' is powered by a 2.0 litre diesel engine and is available in four wheeled drive option with six speed automatic transmission.
Commenting on the market, Renault India Managing Director Marc Nassif said: "India is our top three priorities along with Brazil and Russia. We have set a target to sell a total of one lakh units in 2013."
The next model in the pipeline is a new hatchback that will be launched during the Auto Expo in January 2012. It will be specifically designed for the Indian market by its design centre in Mumbai.
The fourth car for the Indian market will be the SUV 'Duster', which will hit the roads in the second half of 2012.
The company had earlier announced to launch five vehicles in India by the end of 2012. All the cars will be assembled at Renault's Indian facility in Chennai.
Renault and its global alliance partner Nissan have committed an investment of Rs 4,500 crore by 2015 at the Chennai facility, which will have a total annual production capacity of 4 lakh units.
The Koleos, powered by a 2.0-liter diesel engine, will be available in New Delhi showrooms for 2.3 million rupees ($50,000), the company said. Deliveries of the vehicle will start within 10 days, Sudhir Rao, chief operating officer at Renault India Pvt., said in a press conference.
In terms of pricing, the Koleos will compete with Toyota's Fortuner, BMW's X1 models and Mitsubishi's Outlander.
Sport-utility vehicles are getting increasingly popular in India because of growing demand for off-road travel. The segment has been largely insulated from the recent slowdown in local vehicle sales due to higher lending rates and fuel prices. Renault said sales in India's premium SUV segment are growing at a rate of 120%.
The SUV is the company's second vehicle in the Indian market after the premium sedan 'Fluence', which was launched in May this year. It has so far sold 700 units of 'Fluence'.
The 'Koleos' is powered by a 2.0 litre diesel engine and is available in four wheeled drive option with six speed automatic transmission.
Commenting on the market, Renault India Managing Director Marc Nassif said: "India is our top three priorities along with Brazil and Russia. We have set a target to sell a total of one lakh units in 2013."
The next model in the pipeline is a new hatchback that will be launched during the Auto Expo in January 2012. It will be specifically designed for the Indian market by its design centre in Mumbai.
The fourth car for the Indian market will be the SUV 'Duster', which will hit the roads in the second half of 2012.
The company had earlier announced to launch five vehicles in India by the end of 2012. All the cars will be assembled at Renault's Indian facility in Chennai.
Renault and its global alliance partner Nissan have committed an investment of Rs 4,500 crore by 2015 at the Chennai facility, which will have a total annual production capacity of 4 lakh units.
