In terms of Utility Vehicle sales, the only other carmakers to show YoY growth are MG Motors (220%), Volkswagen (162%), and Skoda (15%)
While French carmaker Renault is an extremely successful automobile company internationally, its Indian division doesn’t enjoy the same success. The fact that Renault India only has three vehicles in its current lineup doesn’t help matters. Thankfully, the company has posted positive sales figures recently, which have helped it stay afloat in our market.
From April to June 2020, Renault managed to retail a total of 6,677 units of Utility Vehicles (UVs), which only include the Duster SUV and Triber MPV. The former managed to retail a total of 606 units in these four months, and the latter posted a total sales figure of 6,071 during the same period. While the Duster showed an overall weak sales performance, the Triber managed to sail strong, resulting in a 79 per cent YoY growth!
During the same time last year, i.e., April-July 2019, Renault sold a total of 3,733 units of UVs, which consisted of Duster, Captur, and Lodgy. It is interesting to see how Renault Triber has single-handedly managed to boost the company’s sales. Also, Renault held a 4.6 per cent share of the UV market (April-June 2020), a significant increase over the 1.3 per cent share during the same period last year.
Of course, this also includes the infamous ‘zero sales’ period of April 2020, the worst time ever in the history of the Indian automobile industry. Thankfully, the market has shown great recovery overall, and Renault has consistently been showing positive recovery since, albeit in relatively small numbers.
With the launch of the new turbo-petrol variant of the Renault Duster, it does seem like the carmaker might post even stronger sales figures in the immediate future. That said, the lack of a diesel engine might hurt the SUV’s sales. As demonstrated by Hyundai and Kia, the demand for diesel-powered SUVs still exists, and although it’s not as strong as before, it’s quite significant.
Other than that, Renault India has managed to register impressive sales growth last month in terms of sales figures. In July 2020, the French automaker retailed a total of 6,422 units in the Indian market. Compared to the sales figure of 3,660 units in July 2019, this is a 75 per cent growth on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis! As for monthly sales, the company registered 46 per cent growth over June 2020 (4,634 units sold).