VENKATRAM MAMILLAPALLE

Country CEO & managing director, Renault India Operations

Q. Do you see the SUV trend continuing in India? What’s next for Renault in India in that respect?

The SUV segment has shown promising results over the past few years because of the greater acceptability and the overall viability that SUVs offer customers, with great affordability. The demand for SUVs continues to increase. In line with our strategy for India, we entered the B-segment with the launch of the Kiger last year. With the Kiger, Renault has successfully launched yet another breakthrough product, targeted at the core of India’s automotive market. The Kiger is the third global car from Renault Group that was first launched in India, clearly highlighting India’s importance in Renault’s global growth plans. The Kiger’s success put India among Renault’s top five global markets in 2021. Within just a year of its launch, the Kiger has emerged as a volume driver for Renault in India, alongside the Kwid and the Triber.

We are seeing good demand for all our products, and in the coming months our focus will be to meet this demand, amidst the semi-conductor challenges. The SUV segment is the most promising and Renault has a strong focus on this segment.

Q. What are Renault’s plans for EVs in India?

Globally, we have a strong focus on EVs. For India, developing a complete ecosystem is important. The right time will be when there is enough localisation to enable us to be competitive. Rather than launching a niche product, our aim is to launch an affordable product for the mass market, thereby addressing the real objective and vision of India’s transition to EVs.