Renault Planning To Increase Exports From India

Renault is on a roll in India. While the Duster has been selling in good numbers, the KWID is the product that has turned out to be a blockbuster for the French manufacturer. The latter has sold over 75,000 units since its launch back in September 2015. Determined to seriously challenge the Maruti-dominated entry level hatchback segment, the Renault KWID 1.0-litre is now on the horizon.

Now though, Renault has a new plan of action. It is now looking at India as one of its main manufacturing hubs in the world. "Last month we started exporting Duster and KWID to Sri Lanka. This month we will be entering Nepal while we also prepare to enter Bhutan," Sumit Sawhney, country CEO and managing director, Renault India Operations, told Press Trust of India.

"We are working on a strategy for exports to South Africa, hopefully, it will be finalised soon. Besides, we are looking at other countries in Africa," Sawhney said.

Renault India is also looking to expand its reach to countries as far as Brazil. The French carmaker already manufactures the KWID there. However, Sumit Sawhney shared that the company is looking at a possibility to export components from India. 

Renault India's cumulative sales figures stand at 73,863 units from January to July in 2016. During the same period last year, Renault India sold 25,032 units. That is an astounding 195 per cent growth in sales numbers. Another statistic comes courtesy of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) data. It shows that Renault India has exported 441 units from April to June this fiscal year, as compared to just 56 units over the same period last year. In the domestic market, Renault's KWID is in huge demand. With the possibility of exporting the small hatchback to more countries, the company has already increased the production. "We have started the third shift at our Chennai plant. We are producing about 9,000-9,500 units of the KWID now," Sawhney said.