Renault Could Stop Producing Fluence and Koleos

French carmaker Renault has reiterated its ambitions for India as it plans to focus on popular products in favour of semi knocked down (SKD) offerings, according to the company’s CEO and managing director, Sumit Sawhney.

“We have decided not to sell any product in India which is semi knocked down or has less than 80 percent of local content in case of big cars and 95 percent in small cars. We will be selling only mainstream products,” he told ET Auto.

The carmaker’s earlier products like the Fluence and Koleos could face the axe as a result. “Fluence and Koleos were bridge strategy products but as we are moving towards higher localisation, we will try to be a more mainstream company,” Sawhney said and added, “We will not sell these cars in India until we have 80 percent local content.”

Unlike other European carmakers, Renault has hardly put a foot wrong in the recent past with its entry-level hatchback, the Kwid, gaining popularity with every passing month. The manufacturer has also ramped up its outlets to 270 in the country as it looks to make further inroads into Maruti Suzuki’s small car market share.

The carmaker is also reportedly planning to bring in five new cars to India by 2019. The first of these new models is likely to be a premium sedan, based on the Megane hatchback, and will be followed by the new generation Koleos premium SUV. 

The Koleos will, purportedly, be followed by the smaller, seven-seater crossover Kaptur to give the popular Hyundai Creta a run for its money while the other two cars are expected to include a Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza-rival compact SUV and an Omni competitor.