7-seater Renault Bigster SUV could compete against Mahindra XUV700, Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus and Hyundai Alcazar
Renault and Nissan are expected to make a huge announcement regarding their future investments in India soon according to a recent report that surfaced on the interweb. It further notes that an investment of around 500 million USD (Rs. 4,000 crore) is close to getting approval and the resources will be concentrated towards bringing up the CMF-B architecture in India.
Thus, Renault and Nissan will leverage the modular and flexible nature of the platform to expand their respective portfolio locally in a similar fashion to how Skoda and Volkswagen did under the India 2.0 project. The new investments will also reportedly give rise to the next-generation Duster, the nameplate that really elevated the brand image of Renault.
In essence, the Duster was amongst the first SUVs to really exploit the potential in the modern midsize segment. Currently, the CMF-A and M0 are used by Renault and Nissan models but the ageing M0 won’t be around for too long considering that it only underpins the underwhelming Kicks. Thus, the CMF-B architecture carries plenty of significance for the alliance.
It will allow Renault and Nissan to position their new products in premium segments with different body sizes and types while achieving economies of scale to price them competitively. The heavily localised CMF-B platform will give rise to the next-generation Duster as well as a larger midsize SUV for Renault based on the Bigster concept.
The Bigster concept was unveiled nearly two years ago under Renault’s sister brand Dacia. It sits on the French manufacturer’s elongated CMF-B modular platform, most notably from the Renault Clio V. With the midsize three-row SUV space certainly growing, Renault could use this opportunity by introducing a seven-seater iteration of the upcoming Duster.
While it’s too early to judge, it could compete against the likes of Mahindra XUV700, Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus and Hyundai Alcazar. The next-gen Duster could spawn a Nissan derivative and perhaps a seven-seater iteration too in the future. All eyes are on the upcoming Duster at the moment and it will likely be launched in the 2024-25 period.