There’s a hint of a spat between alliance partners Renault and Nissan, according to India’s Hindustan Times which said the success of the Dacia Duster – badged as a Renault in India – has led Nissan to openly talk about the using the car itself.
Renault seems reluctant to share it at least in the short term, added the newspaper.
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Some 15,000 orders have been taken for recently launched, locally assembled Duster and the Hindustan Times said sharing it with Nissan, which has more presence and an assembly plant in the country, could be counter productive for Renault’s own business plan.
“The matter has not come up for discussions yet so the answer is no, we are not sharing Duster with them [Nissan],” Marc Nassif, managing director, Renault India told HT. “We cannot rule out the possibility forever within the alliance but this will certainly not happen within the immediate time frame of at least an year. Even if this happens, the products will be branded and sold separately with their own distinct identities.”
The newspaper reported that there was some apprehension Nissan, with its wider sales and service network, may end up damaging Renault’s prospects. Renault currently has 55 dealers around the country compared with Nissan’s 75.
Takayuki Ishida, managing director and CEO, Nissan India, said: “We will need more products and it would be across segments.We are very interested in the SUV segment and have many options globally. Duster has done very well in India and a vehicle based on it is definitely a prospect. We will look into that possibility [of ‘borrowing’ it from Renault].”
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By GlobalDataRenault’s recent sales surge in India was largely due to the Duster which accounted for more than half of its tally.
