Renault India is one of the primary volume gatherers in the mass market space and knowing the importance of the presence in multiple segments, the brand introduced the Triber back in 2019 and it helped in expanding the sales volumes. It accompanied the facelifted Kwid and Duster, as the trio posted appreciable volume growth in the Calendar Year 2019.
Fast forwarding just over a year, the French manufacturer had introduced the Kiger compact SUV at a highly affordable price range between Rs. 5.45 lakh and Rs. 9.55 lakh (ex-showroom). The company was said to be working on a sub-four-metre sedan internally codenamed LBA, and it would reportedly be underpinned by the same CMF-A+ platform – highly localised as in the Renault Kiger and Nissan Magnite.
The Renault LBA might have been pitted against Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Hyundai Aura, Honda Amaze and Tata Tigor if it came into fruition. Renault has aggressive plans to attain profitability and the Kiger is expected to play a big role in it. It is aiming at selling 7,000 units of the compact SUV on average every month and just as other manufacturers, it will concentrate more on the SUV segment in the coming years.
The craze for SUVs has certainly increased over the last three to four years. The compact and mid-size SUV segments are finding increased takers in recent years and naturally, Renault could step up the game by making a presence slightly higher up to rival Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Tata Harrier, Nissan Kicks and the likes.
The brand could target undercutting its rivals to have pricing advantage and it could be positioned above the Duster. It will be interesting to see what really happens in the future! As for now, the Renault Kiger will play a significant part in posting good sales volumes and is powered by a 1.0-litre naturally-aspirated three-cylinder petrol engine.
It produces 72 PS maximum power and 96 Nm of peak torque and is paired with a five-speed manual or a five-speed AMT. The turbocharged version of the 1.0-litre petrol unit kicks out 100 PS and 160 Nm and is linked with a five-speed manual or a CVT automatic transmission in the top-end variants.
Rendering by Kleber Silva
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