Renault Kaptur imported for testing; to be launched in India in 2017

Even as it is known for some time that the French automaker Renault is planning to bring its SUV —the Kaptur — to the Indian market in 2017, the company has started importing the model to the country. According to Zauba, which tracks the record of India's import and export data, Renault has imported one unit of Kaptur, which is also known by its codename HHA, has been imported to India.

The Kaptur, which will rival the Mahindra XUV500 and the new Honda BR-V in its segment, is likely to be a seven-seater SUV, which draws its design cues from Clio-based Renault Captur. The compact SUV is expected to get in 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines under the hood in India. The 1.5-litre direct injection, common-rail diesel is expected to churn out 89bhp of power at 4,000rpm and 220Nm at 1,750rpm mated to five-speed manual transmission.

The SUV is likely to be based on the Duster platform to keep the price in check and is expected to get wide grille, new bumpers with C-shaped LED day-time running lamps and new alloy wheels.

The French carmaker Renault is planning to launch one car per year in India. The company, which launched its Kwid hatchback in the country last year, saw sales reaching a record high of 12,426 in April 2016. It also represented a growth of 211 percent over cars sold in April 2015.