In a bid to expand its footprint in India, French auto maker, Renault is developing two new volume segment cars that are supposed to debut in 2015. Three years after its re-entry in domestic market, Renault is still trying hard to acquire a slice of market share that brings it among the top auto makers in the country. To achieve its goal, the company will come up with two mass segment vehicles, including Lodgy MPV and the other would be a small hatchback.
Caught undergoing test rounds across the country, Lodgy MPV will be a seven seater vehicle. In the MPV segment Lodgy will face off with vehicles like Maruti Ertiga, Toyota Innova and Honda Mobilio. On the outside the MPV is expected to sport ample chrome treatment around the front grille. Cabin will get two tone colour scheme (beige and brown), however Renault may not equip an infotainment system in the MPV. Under the bonnet a 1.6 litre petrol engine borrowed from Duster could be seen. Diesel variants could house a 1.5 litre K9K diesel powertrain that is good for 84 HP. Both the engines are likely to be offered in manual gearbox only. As for the pricing, we expect it to come with an affordable price tag.
Next in the line is the compact hatchback which is being developed under the codename XBA and will underpin Renault Nissan alliance’s CMF-A platform. If media reports are to be believed, the hatchback will be a global product and India will be among the first few markets to get the hatchback. Expected to be priced below Rs 4 lakh, XBA will take on the likes of Maruti Celerio, Maruti WagonR and Hyundai i10 in domestic market. A new 1.0 litre petrol engine is being developed for the hatchback. Renault could offer the small car in manual as well as automatic transmissions.
