French car manufacturer Renault launched the new-generation Duster in India early this year. The official price announcements and deliveries for the same only started a few months ago. The SUV has been getting a good response from the market. The Indian subsidiary of the French brand is not only selling the Duster in India but has also started exporting the SUV to other markets. The first shipment of 750 vehicles was recently shipped to South Africa from Chennai.
Renault has a manufacturing facility in Chennai, and by exporting vehicles to other markets from India, the company wants to strengthen its position not just by selling cars here but also by making cars in India for global markets. Under its new strategy, Renault wants to strengthen India’s position as a key hub for manufacturing, engineering, and exports.
Commenting on this occasion, Mr. Stephane Deblaise, CEO of Renault Group India, said, “The start of exports of the all-new Duster is an important moment for Renault India and a strong validation of the quality, capabilities, and competitiveness of our operations in Chennai. It reflects the progress we have made in building India into an integral part of Renault’s global industrial footprint.”
“India possesses all the fundamentals required to emerge as a leading automotive export hub: world-class manufacturing capabilities, engineering talent, scale, and a rapidly evolving logistics ecosystem. As Renault continues to expand its international footprint, India will play an increasingly strategic role in our future plans. We remain committed to contributing to the country’s manufacturing ambitions and are working towards our objective of generating €2 billion in annual exports from India by 2030.”
Renault made a comeback in the Indian market with the all-new Duster this year. The SUV has been officially available in our market for several months now. The SUV is based on Renault’s RGMP architecture, which is a flexible platform designed to support multiple powertrain technologies.
The Renault Duster sold in India is currently offered with two engine options, and both have scored 5-star ratings in Bharat NCAP crash tests. Renault Duster is a name that holds strong recall value in the Indian market. It is a name that many Indians can relate to, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the older-generation Duster was one of the SUVs that kick-started the compact SUV trend in our market.
The SUV offers a rugged-looking exterior that one would associate with a proper SUV. It comes with sleek LED headlamps, LED DRLs, a muscular front grille, a nose with Duster badging, a muscular front bumper, sensors, cameras, alloy wheels, and more. The LED tail lamps on the SUV are new and even come with a connected LED bar.
On the inside, the Duster comes with features like a panoramic sunroof, electrically adjustable front seats, leatherette upholstery, a large floating touchscreen infotainment system, a fully digital instrument cluster, automatic climate control, a 360-degree camera, Level 2 ADAS, and more.
The SUV is available with a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that generates 100 PS and 160 Nm of peak torque. This engine comes with a 6-speed manual transmission only. The next option is the 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine that generates 163 PS and 280 Nm of torque. It comes with a manual transmission and a 6-speed DCT gearbox option.
The smaller engine has a claimed fuel efficiency of 19.41 kmpl, while the larger turbo-petrol unit offers 18.45 kmpl for the DCT and 17.75 kmpl for the manual version. The price of the Renault Duster in India starts at Rs 10.49 lakh, ex-showroom, and goes all the way up to Rs 18.69 lakh, ex-showroom.
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