Renault Duster Wins 'Best SUV of the Year 2012'; Exclusive Interview Inside

Renault Duster is the car, which has established the brand Renault in India and has made Renault a significant name in the country. Renault Duster was one of the most successful vehicle in 2012 and most liked as well. Our readers have proven it yet again by choosing Renault Duster as 'Best SUV of the Year 2012' with a total 56.20 per cent votes. CarDekho Awards is the first of its kind viewer based award, where both nominees and winners have been chosen by CarDekho's viewers, thus CarDekho Award becomes more significant. Amit Jain- Founder, CarDekho.com and Mohit Yadav- AVP Sales, Corporate Sales and Strategy, CarDekho presented the trophy to Renault Team at their Chennai office.

We also spoke to Mr. Vivek Balasubramaniam, Head, Marketing, Renault India on this occasion and discussed the Indian car scenario and Renault's future plans in India.

Q.1 Congratulation for the award, Renault Duster was easily the Best SUV in 2012, and our readers also prove the same by choosing Duster as the Best SUV 2012 with a total 56.2 per cent votes. How do you feel about it?

The recognition from industry experts and customers for both Renault and our products has been enormously encouraging and proof of the quality, reliability and acceptability of Renault cars. With the overwhelming enthusiasm from the market, the Duster has swept an unprecedented 29 awards, including Car of the Year and Renault has been honoured with a total of 37 awards, making Renault the most awarded brand in the country. Moreover, the Duster continues to be a strong offering in the Indian market, providing customers a benchmark in roominess, reliability, comfort as well as ride and handling to meet their varied needs and aspirations.

We are extremely grateful for encouragement and positive feedback from the market and are especially appreciative of the recognition received for the Duster through awards such as ‘the Best SUV in 2012’ from CarDekho, since they are awarded directly by customers through their votes and represent customer satisfaction and loyalty. Enjoyable customer experience is critical in any brand’s success, especially with today’s challenging market conditions. Renault will continue to endeavour to uphold the standard set by the Duster in customer acceptability and to achieve more accolades of this kind in the future.

Q.2 Renault Duster is doing pretty well, it is clocking around 5000 sales per month, which is quite impressive, but now when Ford EcoSport launch is near, don't you think, it will affect Duster's sales?

The Renault Duster offers customers for the first time in India a unique mix of efficiency, roominess, adventure and comfort, the acceptance and success of which can be seen in the growing demand and recognition from customers and industry experts alike. The Duster’s reliability from the globally recognised DCI engine is yet another strong pillar that offers drivers with both a wonderful drive as well as fuel efficiency. Moreover, Renault’s extensive network of dealerships focus on offering the very best of customer after-sales experience.

Renault India is confident the Duster’s reliability and comfort will continue to offer customers with a truly enjoyable drive as well as a competitive offering in the market.

Q.3 The test mules of the Renault Modus have been spied many times in India, are you planning to launch it in India?

As a policy, we do not comment on any future product plans. We will continue keeping our stakeholders informed on specific product actions at the appropriate time.

Q.4 Your most of the sales come from the Duster, while your other products are not doing that well. So, will your focus shift towards small passenger cars and compact cars?

We are on track with the sales of all our products in the Renault India portfolio. As a policy, we compete on value, and not on price, as seen by the consistent feedback from both customers and industry experts on all Renault cars in India.

The Duster is indeed a well-packed and accessible SUV, the first of its kind in the market and has won over the hearts of our customers across the nation. The Renault portfolio, however, offers a complete range of options for varied customer needs, and we are confident about the continued desirability and success of Renault cars in India.

Q.5 Any plans to relaunch the Logan sedan in India?

As stated earlier, we do not, as a policy discuss future product plans. We will keep the market informed of such plans at the appropriate time.

Q.6 Keeping the current market scenario in mind, where do you see Renault India after five years down the line?

Renault India has grown tremendously in the last two years, with a dealership network that expanded from 40 outlets in 2011 to over 100 at present, and a product portfolio of 5 cars that have established the Renault brand in India in a very short time.

We cannot predict the future of the market at the present time, especially keeping in mind the challenging conditions we now have. We at Renault are, however, bullish about our growth and will target for 2013 at least double the sales we saw in 2012.

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