Renault India has stopped the production of its popular Duster compact SUV in the country. Retailed in several markets via the company's subsidiary brand Dacia, India was one of the few countries that still sold the first-generation Duster, whereas globally, the second-generation model has been on sale since 2017. The Duster was the SUV that made Renault a household name in India, and in a way, started the trend for compact SUVs in the country. However, compared to competitors, which offer better design, premium interior, and far more advanced features, the Renault Duster looks very much dated right now. Also, with the new Kiger subcompact SUV, which is currently the carmaker's best-selling model in India, Renault probably decided that the Duster was no longer needed, at least for now. [1]

Figure 1. Renault Duster Production Ends in India

Figure 1 shows the introduction of the brand new Kiger subcompact SUV, and falling gross sales may very well be the explanation for Renault discontinuing the Duster

In addition, gross sales of Duster are additionally falling to triple and even double digit numbers. To put issues into perspective, within the final six months, Renault offered lower than 1,500 Duster SUVs in India, and in January 2022, wholesales of the Duster stood at zero. In comparability, in January 2022 alone, Hyundai offered 9,869 items of the Creta, whereas Kia offered 11,483 items of the Seltos. Right now, these two are the market leaders of the of this section. [2]

The 2023 Renault Duster will be build on the basis of the Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s CMF-B platform, which is also used in Sandero. The architecture is claimed to be made as per different markets and customer expectations around the world. The new Duster is rumored to be offered with 7-seats configuration. Both the petrol variants got a standard manual transmission, but only the turbo-petrol gets a CVT option. [4]

Current Gen Renault Duster Continue to Sell

Renault Duster dealers will continue to sell current stock, and the business is officially giving advantages of up to Rs. 1.3 lakh on the SUV starting in February 2022. The Duster is still available for purchase on Renault India’s official website, with pricing ranging from Rs. 9.86 lakh to Rs. 14.25 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). [3]

References:

1. https://www.carandbike.com/news/renault-duster-production-ends-in-india-2762709
2. https://www.pehalnews.in/renault-duster-production-ends-in-india/1626532/
3. https://autobizz.in/renault-duster-production-ended-in-india/
4. https://kalingatv.com/business/automobile/renault-duster-production-stopped-in-india-new-gen-suv-expected-to-arrive-in-2023/

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Renault Duster Production Ends In India, pp. 128