In Conversation with Sumit Sawhney- MD and CEO Renault India
Renault India today inaugurated its 2nd dealership in Jaipur and on this occasion we got a chance to interact with Mr. Sumit Sawhney, MD and CEO, Renault India. He can be credited for the success of Renault in India in a short span of two years. Having the in-depth knowledge of Indian automobile industry and mindset of Indian customers, Sumit believes that automobile industry is the engine of the country’s growth. In our conversation, we discussed about Renault’s future plans and product strategy, here is our short but insightful interview with Mr. Sawhney.
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Q.1 Congratulations for the new dealership, you are growing good in terms of market share as well as geographically. So, what are your plans for year 2014 for the network expansion?
Ans. Right now, Renault India has a total of 125 dealerships and 105 service centers across the country, while in Rajasthan we have 9 dealerships and 9 service centers. Now, by the end of the year 2014, we are looking to open 50 new dealerships and 55 service centers, making it to 175 dealerships and 160 service centers in India. In 2015, we will be expanding the service center network and will try to reach the new markets.
Q.2 Renault India’s growth has been phenomenal and you are already having a market share around 2.5 per cent. Where do you see the company in next couple of year and what will be your strategy?
Ans. The strategy is pretty clear we want to reach closer to our customer and we want to give them best quality cars and best service experience. Therefore, we are working hard to expand our sales and service outlets and simultaneously we will also be launching new products and entering new segments. So, we are aiming to have an over 5 per cent market share by FY 2016-17.
Q.3 You just mentioned about new products, can you please throw more light on your upcoming products?
Ans. Currently we are largely present in almost all the crucial segments, but as announced already we are going to launch a new small car with Sub 4 lakh price tag. We will also be making a strong entry in a completely new segment. So, we will be launching two new cars next year.
Q.4 Renault recently updated the Fluence and Koleos, what about Duster, Pulse and Scala?
Ans. We first launched the Fluence and then the Koleos, we recently updated both the cars. While Scala and Pulse has been launched as brand new cars in India and every manufacturer generally takes 3 years time to update their cars. However, as far as Duster is concerned, we recently launched the Adventure Edition and we keep on adding excitement to the Duster line-up for that we will share the information with you on the right time.
Q.5 There are lots of reports coming in for Duster 4X4. Dacia is already selling the 4X4 version in the European market, can we expect it in India?
Ans. Yes, we are going to launch the 4 wheel drive Duster in India by the end of the year.
