Tag: Renault

Renault-Nissan Has Sold 1,00,000 Zero-Emission Cars

Allison Howard, American graduate student at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia purchased a Nissan Leaf earlier this month. That Nissan Leaf was the 1,00,000th zero-emission car sold by the Renault-Nissan alliance.

The age of the mainstream zero-emission vehicle is here. We expect demand to keep growing as the charging infrastructure develops – and we remain 100 percent committed to zero-emission technology for the long term.

– Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Renault-Nissan

Renault-Nissan has sold more zero-emission cars than all other automotive manufacturers put together. Electric cars sold by the French-Japanese alliance have driven approximately 841 million kilometers, enough to circle the earth more than 20,000 times, and they have produced no-emissions while doing so. Together, they have saved 53 million litres of oil and prevented emissions of 124 million kg of CO2.

The Nissan Leaf makes up more than half of all global sales of pure electric driven cars. More than 71,000 sales comfortably makes it the world’s best-selling electric vehicle. The Nissan Leaf won the 2011 World Car of the Year, European Car of the Year 2011 and Car of the Year Japan 2011-2012 awards.The top markets for the Leaf are the United States with about 30,000 units, Japan with 28,000 units, and Europe with 12,000 units.

Comparatively, Renault has sold 30,000 electric vehicles since late 2011, looking after other segments of the EV market with the Kangoo Z.E., Zoe, Twizy and Fluence Z.E.

July 25, 2013
New Renault Duster to be Unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show

Renault will be heading to the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and has already made some exciting announcements. Apart from a new concept car, it has promised the introduction of an all-new Duster at the popular auto show.

The new concept is an interesting prospect, with Renault’s press release mentioning a “new brand identity. However we believe the big newsmaker will be the second incarnation of the French automaker’s successful compact SUV.

The Duster which is sold in India under the Renault badge, is manufactured and sold globally under the badge of Renault’s Romanian budget brand, Dacia. Introduced in 2010, the Dacia Duster has been a massive hit in markets such as the UK, Russia and India, becoming Renault’s best-selling global model. Clearly, the new Duster will have big shoes to fill, and all eyes will be on Renault’s pavilion in Frankfurt, come September 10.

Spyshots of test models have been spotted more than once on the internet. Multiple shots of the new Duster testing in and around Europe show evident cosmetic changes both inside and outside. Exterior changes to the Duster include revised headlights and tail lights, grille, bumpers. It is believed that inside, the new Duster will get most of the upgrades that were shown on the 2013 Dacia Logan sedan. A slightly revised version was spotted testing in Romania five months ago and featured a revised instrument cluster and cruise control. The interior will get a brand new dashboard, better electronics such as a touch screen display, higher quality upholstery and lots more. A lot of these upgrades may not make it to India, but we’re hoping Renault includes the more important ones.

July 24, 2013
Ashok Leyland Stile MPV Unveiled

Ashok Leyland has unveiled the production version of the Stile MPV. The Stile is a rebadged Nissan Evalia and is stripped down to be priced lower than the Nissan. The Stile is ‘styled’ differently to its Nissan equivalent. It also gets a lower-spec version of the 1.5-litre Renault-derived K9K turbo diesel engine, which produces 75 bhp and 185 Nm of torque. Compared to this, the Nissan Evalia produces 85 bhp and 200 Nm of torque.

The Stile is expected to gain a CNG powered variant with a petrol engine serving as the base. Ashok Leyland has many body styles in mind regarding the Stile’s usage. These include but are not limited to 7/8 seat options for the passenger variant, an ambulance and a panel van.

The Ashok Leyland Stile is expected to be launched in September and further details including pricing will be revealed at the same time. The MPV was unveiled by Carlos Ghosn, the global Chairman and CEO, of Nissan and Renault, when he was in Delhi for the unveiling of the Datsun Go. The Stile will be sold from Ashok Leyland’s dealerships but will be manufactured by Nissan at Oragadam.

July 20, 2013
Nissan Terrano to start at Rs. 8.90 lakhs according to reports

According to reports by Motorbeam, the Nissan Terrano will hit Indian markets in October starting at Rs. 8.90 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). Nissan has taken note of the poor demand for the petrol version of the Duster, which is the equivalent model offered by their sister brand Renault. Due to this, the Nissan Terrano will be offered with a 1.5-litre diesel engine only and no petrol engines be will available. Motorbeam also claims to have a studio picture, as posted on their site, which isn’t the same as the official sketch released by Nissan a few weeks ago.

The compact SUV will be offered in four variants which; XL, XL (O), XV and XV premium. The 1.5-litre diesel engine under its hood produces 85 hp of power and 200 Nm of torque and power will be transferred to the wheel through a 5-speed manual gearbox. Nissan will offer all variants of the Terrano with driver side airbags as standard, something which it does on its other cars as well.

The difference between the Nissan Terrano and Renault Duster will be purely cosmetic, including smoked headlights, new front grille, new bumper, new alloy wheels and new tail lights. The interiors will see minor changes regarding the fabric of the seats. The base variant of the diesel Renault Duster (RxE) is priced at Rs. 8.73 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi).

[Source: Motorbeam]

June 21, 2013
Renault launches entry-level Scala RxE Diesel

Renault India has introduced an entry-level diesel variant of its Scala sedan, in order to make its diesel range more accessible to the Indian customers.

The Scala RxE diesel will be powered by the same 1.5-litre k9k diesel assembly as that in the RxL and RxZ variants, producing 84.8 bhp and 20.4kgm of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission.

Features like a driver airbag, ABS with EBD, Brake Assist, engine immobiliser, music system, rear cooling vents and anti pinch power windows are standard but climate control, passenger airbag and power windows are omitted.

At Renault India, we are constantly endeavouring to offer products that meet the complete spectrum of customer needs. The Scala RxE not only offers the luxury, roominess and excellent ride and handling of the Scala diesel variants, but also delivers a host of features high on safety, comfort and entertainment – all in a price currently unmatched at the entry level of the premium sedan segment.
– Sumit Sawhney, Executive Director, Marketing & Sales, Renault India Pvt. Ltd.

The Renault Scala RXE diesel is priced at Rs Rs. 8.29 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi). It comes with the Renault Complete car package which offers 2+2 years/80,000km warranty with roadside and navigation assistance.

The Scala is available in six variants with both diesel and petrol options. While the petrol variants are priced between Rs. 7.19 lakhs and Rs. 9.99 lakhs, the diesel variants are available in a price range of Rs. 8.29 lakhs to Rs. 9.68 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi).

[featured image does not show RxE variant of the Scala]

June 20, 2013
Nissan Confirms Duster Spin-off Called Terrano

After reports from Autocar India about Nissan producing its own version of Renault’s Duster, Nissan has confirmed the rumours by announcing the Terrano and releasing an official sketch.

The Terrano will be produced at Nissan’s Oragadam plant alongside the premium hatchback Micra, Sunny sedan and Evalia urban class utility vehicle, expanding Nissan’s locally-built model range to four.

I am delighted to reveal both the name and the very first image of what will be a very important model for Nissan. You can see from the sketch that the Terrano has a bold and distinctive design that I am confident will appeal to our growing customer base in India, as will its driving performance and range of other features that will be revealed at a later date.

– Kenichiro Yomura, President & CEO, Nissan Motor India

The Nissan Terrano is expected to be launched in India in 2013.

[Autocar India]

June 11, 2013
Nissan planning on Renault Duster spin-off called Terrano

It has been reported by Autocar India, that Nissan is going to flex its alliance with Renault to spin off a Duster of its own. Just as it did with the Sunny, Nissan will resurrect the Terrano nametag, a moniker once used for the Pathfinder when it was introduced way back in 1993 and discontinued in 2006. The new model will feature unique sheetmetal to give it a look similar to other Nissan SUVs. But the interior as well as the powertrain is expected to be the same, meaning there will be a range of gasoline and diesel four-cylinder engines with both manual and automatic gearboxes and front- or all-wheel drive. However, the Terrano is expected to be priced Rs. 50,000- Rs. 75,000 more than the Duster, unlike other Nissan models which are priced lower to their Renault counterparts.

This has to do with an agreement in the Renault-Nissan Alliance. When Renault badge engineers a Nissan car, the Renault version has to be priced higher than its Nissan donor and vice versa. This is why the Nissan Sunny is cheaper than its badge-engineered compatriot, the Renault Scala. In this case, since Nissan will be the one borrowing the Duster, the Terrano will be priced higher.

The car will come with a new bumper, tailgate, headlamps and tail-lights. The badge-engineered Terrano is expected to be launched by the end of this year.

[Autocar India]

June 9, 2013
Datsun Making Global Comeback In India In July

32 years after removing it from its lineup, Nissan is all set to revive the venerable Datsun brand in markets like India, South Africa, Russia & Indonesia. Carlos Ghosn, global CEO of Renault-Nissan, will formally launch the brand at the Kingdom of Dreams in New Delhi on the 15th of July this year. Also expected is the unveiling of the first Datsun model, which will be a five-door hatchback costing less than Rs. 4 Lakh.

India is a tough market and it’s not going to be a picnic for us, but we believe Datsun can crack it with modernity and a superior product.

– Vincent Cobee, Corporate VP, Datsun Business Unit

Datsun is targeting the budget end of the market primarily, hoping to sell large volumes of cars. Nissan is depending heavily on Datsun to create a good blend of affordability and Japanese reliability in order to attract Indian consumers in the most competitive segment in the market. They hope that superior styling will help sway opinions, with the entire family sporting a prominent hexagonal grille for it to stand out among other new-age design elements.

Datsun Fairlady 240Z

The first model is expected to be a five-door hatchback powered by the same 1.2-litre 3 cylinder petrol engine as the Nissan Micra. Its expected to be as spacious as the Micra, but much lighter. Datsun says that it will have much superior performance and best in-class fuel efficiency. The car is expected to hit the market in mid-2014 and give tough competition to the Hyundai Eon/i10 and various Maruti Suzuki hatchbacks.

April 27, 2013
2013 Shanghai Motor Show: Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept Seen In The Flesh

The Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept was created last year to pay homage to the original Renault A110 on its 50th anniversary, but the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show was the first instance where the eyecatching concept could be seen in person. The concept sports a curvaceous body sculpted out of carbon fibre, sprayed with the familiar and iconic Alpine Blue paint.

Designers have added a nice touch up front with a set of half-ring yellow LED lights, reminiscent of the hood-mounted fog lights on the original A110. The radically designed concept is based loosely on the very futuristic Renault Dezir Concept, as is evident from the low stance, wide fender arches and scissor doors. The Alpine Concept also comes with a big split-wing rear spoiler, hinting at lots of performance as well, if it ever makes it to production.

Powered by a 3.5-litre V6 engine producing 400 bhp, used in conjunction with a dual-clutch six-speed gearbox, the A110-50 Concept shares the same chassis as the Renault Megane Trophy, and sits on 21 inch wheels with adjustable Sachs dampers on board. A roof mounted-intake funnels air from outside the engine bay into the concept’s carbon fibre air-intake.

The Alpine A110 was first introduced in 1961 and went on to be very successful in the rally circuit in the 1970s, adding to Renault’s motorsport heritage. Although Renault has given no official word on production, we really hope to see it on the roads of India someday.

April 26, 2013
Autogyaan: 5 Hatchbacks We’d Love to See in India

We as Indians love hatchbacks. We love how they are practical and economical. We love how they can be easily manoeuvred out of any traffic jam and parked in the tightest of corners, doing all this while not emptying our bank accounts. Here are 5 hatchbacks we’d love to see on Indian roads (only if they were assembled here, of course).

1) Volkswagen Golf

The quintessential hatchback, the VW Golf is one of the all-time best selling cars, and has graced international ‘car of the year lists’ time and again. The newest iteration is over a 100kg lighter than the previous one, and has impressive safety features such as lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control. It’s still a great ‘driver’s car’ and does everything that a hatchback should, and how.

2) Ford Focus

Like the Golf, the Focus is hatchback royalty. It has been an unmitigated success since its launch in 1998. The 2013 model manages to improve upon an aging design with new stylish looks and a well thought out interior. Very refined and practical, it still handles brilliantly and the pricier sporty versions offer some of the quickest engines in the range. Hot hatches really don’t get better than this (just look at those alloy wheels!).

3) Renault Clio

First things first, the Clio’s menacing looks ooze character, you can’t help but notice it. The supermini ticks all the boxes its accomplished predecessor dealt with, and still manages to improve upon others. It’s wider, lower and lighter than before making it handle much better and providing a very composed and comfortable ride. It has a bold, lively interior and comes with a punch-filled economical engine. It may not be as refined as some of its competitors, but it might put a bigger smile on your face.

4) Volkswagen Up

Volkswagen has built more than its share of hatchbacks, and there have been quite a few misses (read VW Fox) to go with the hits. But let there be no doubt, the Up belongs with the latter. This agile, little city car has a lot more space than it seems, and an interior that will put many pricier hatchbacks to shame. It’s not the most powerful or the best equipped car in its class, however it more than makes up for it with a very forgiving ride and a snappy gearbox. The Up does a lot more than is expected from it, and is just too much fun to drive for us to ignore it.

5) Kia Rio

Considerably cheaper than the Golf and the Focus, the Kia Rio will fit in well in the Indian market. Although its performance and handling is not at par with most of its pricier competitors, it has an extremely spacious and stylish interior. Coupled with great modern looks, the gulf between it and its rivals isn’t as big as you’d expect it to be. Boasting a five star NCAP crash test rating, it’s very safe and sturdily built. On top of what is simply a very solid and reliable car, Kia offers a mind-boggling 7 year warranty on all its models in more than 20 European countries. If that won’t sell a car, god knows what will.

March 24, 2013