If a report on French newspaper La Tribune is right, Renault sets off developing a new ultra low-cost car on the 1st of January 2012 for a price of under 2 lakh rupees for emerging market places such as India, China and Brazil. An improved sibling with better emission and fuel economy ratings could make it to European markets a few years after the cost-down variant sees daylight. The launch time frame is not mentioned in the article but it is popular knowledge that it takes about four years for a mature car company to execute a project.
It is said that the low-price vehicle sits on a platform on which cars of different sizes can be built (top-hat technique). The company may ignore the Logan platform as it may prove to be too expensive for an Alto-type model. Developing a completely new platform could be the first chapter.
The report points out that many ideas could have sprouted during the discussions Renault held with Bajaj Auto during the birth of the ULC (Ultra Low-cost Car). The fate of the ULC outside Bajaj’s umbrella is not yet determined, but if this report holds any substance, Renault may have other plans in its mind for a Nano rival. We are waiting for an announcement during Auto Expo in January next year where Bajaj Auto will launch or exhibit the ULC.
The report adds that the project is headed by Renault’s small-car division boss Gerard Detourbet.
[Source - LaTribune.fr]
Image – 1992 Renault Zoom concept has no relation to the story.
[...] occupy the segments below the Pulse (Micra clone). We’ve heard that their small car division begins work on a ULC on January 1, 2012. This is most likely to take on cars like the Tata Nano, Maruti Alto and Hyundai [...]
[...] via – IAB [...]