After Captur, Renault India to launch 7-seater MPV rivalling Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

Renault India Private Limited is gearing to launch Captur premium SUV in the country. The launch of the premium SUV is in line with the plan of Renault India to roll out a new model in the market every year. For 2017 it is Captur while a seven-seater MPV will be the new model for next year from the Indian subsidiary of the French carmaker.

The seven-seater MPV from Renault will be based on the stretched common module family platform (CMF-A) that also underpins the Kwid hatchback, reports ET Auto. The iteration of the platform is expected to be called as CMF-A+.

Codenamed RBC, the MPV will be slotted below Renault Lodgy in the domestic portfolio and hence it will pose a challenge to the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga.

Renault launched the Lodgy in MPV segment in 2015. Despite being priced competitively between Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Toyota Innova in the MPV space, Lodgy failed to live up to the expectations. The sales were healthy but it failed to pose a challenge to the rivals.

The RBC, on the other hand, will come with more localisation to keep the price in check. It will be the comeback model of Renault to bolster its presence in the MPV space. The model will also will feature the brand's latest design language.

The news on Renault MPV goes in line with the previous statement from Renault India Managing Director Sumit Sawhney. "We will be working on segments where we are not present. We will try to bring in a lot of innovation in order to make them the game-changer in the segment and redefine it or create a sub-segment out of it."

For 2019, a new SUV that will be positioned between Kwid and Duster will be the new model, reports ET Auto. This new SUV has been codenamed HBC and it will go up against Maruti Suzuki's Vitara Brezza SUV.

Source: ET Auto