Emboldened by the success of models such as Kwid and Duster in India, Renault is planning to expand its offerings in the Indian market in the coming years. Talking to a leading journal, the CEO of Renault India stared that in order to capture a larger share of market in India, the brand working on bringing new products into different segments in India.
In a bid to increase the sales volume of the company by two fold, the French manufacturer was already working on a 7-seater MPV for India. This new MPV by Renault will be based on the Renault Kwid platform. Given the internal codename RBC by the French maker, this is the very first completely new product that the company will launch in India. Talking further, the CEO of Indian branch of the French car giant also stated that the company was looking to launch the 7-seater MPV in India by July of 2019.
Renault RBC is basically built on the CMF-A platform is found on Renault Kwid, however this platform has been modified to a great extent in order to fit the size of an MPV. The new car from Renault will look a lot like the Datsun Go Plus. However, the French carmaker’s new product will be more premium than the Datsun and will come filled with features.
The upcoming 7-seater RBC by French carmaker will get the design derived from Kwid, with a rough and tough body and SUV like stance with an improved ground clearance. One can expect Renualt to load the upcoming top model of RBC with several features including touchscreen infotainment, rear parking sensors, speed warning, seatbelt reminder, ABS and driver-side airbag as standard.
Renault has still not disclosed the engine details of the RBC, although the car has been spotted during testing many times in India. However, there are rumors on the internet that indicate that the new MPV from French automaker could come only with a petrol engine. Renault could choose either the its Kwid’s 1.0-litre petrol engine or partner Nissan Micra’s 1.2-litre petrol mill. The AMT version of this upcoming MPV has also been spotted testing, therefore an AMT is sure to be offered with the car along with a manual gearbox.
Renault will pace the RBC between Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Datsun Go+ in the market. The spyshots have already showed us that the new upcoming MPV will be smaller than the Ertiga but it will be slightly larger than the Datsun Go+. RBC could come in between the price range of Rs. 5 Lakh and Rs. 7.5 Lakh.