Renault India, on Thursday, launched the Lodgy, its latest MPV in India with an introductory price of Rs 8.19 lakhs (Ex-Showroom Delhi).
The Lodgy will be taking on the likes of the Mahindra Zylo, the Toyota Innova and to a certain extent even the Honda Mobilio and the Maruti Ertiga.
Talking at the launch, Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and MD, Renault India Operations said, "The Mobilio will help us reach our target of a five percent market share by 2016 end."
The car along with the Duster is expected to be the pillars on which Renault grows its presence in the Indian market.
"A sub-four lakh car is also on the anvil and will be released soon," he added.
Internationally, the Lodgy is known as the Dacia Lodgy, the Indian model has been re-badged as the Renault Lodgy.
This car will be sharing a lot of parts with the Duster. The interiors will be same and the platform shall be slightly modified.
Regarding car pricing, Sawhney said, "We have priced it extremely competitively, and we are confident that Lodgy will create a new segment in the Indian automotive industry, as we have successfully done with Duster in the recent past."
The Lodgy will be powered by a 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine, which will be available in two states of tunes - 85Ps (84bhp) and 110Ps (108bhp).
This engine is also available in the Duster. As of now, no Petrol version of the car is available. The 85Ps version will be available in four models, starting at Rs 8.19 lakhs and going up to Rs 10.89 Lakhs. The 110Ps version will start at 10.09 and go all the way up to 11.79 Lakhs. (All prices are Ex-Showroom Delhi).
The car company is also gearing up for its expansion in India.
"Renault is planning to move form 157 outlets currently to 205 by the end of 2015. That figure shall rise to 280 by the end of 2016. Service outlets are going to increase to 305 by the end of 2016," Sawhney said.
This coupled with the launch of a 'used car program' are other critical strategies of Renault's future in the country.
