Renault makes steady progress on its A-Entry hatchback to rival Eon, Alto, Nano

And we thought that dust has settled on the 800 cc segment. Not yet says Renault.

A report on Economic Times reveals that Renault is planning an 800cc entry level hatchback for the Indian market.

Codenamed ‘A Entry’, the new 800cc hatchback is being developed at the Renault-Nissan Technology and Business Centre India Private Ltd (RNTBCI) under the leadership of Gerard Detourbet – often referred to as the father of entry car programs.

To power the new entry level hatchback, Renault is working on an all-new 800 cc engine codenamed B4A. The engineers are working day-in and day-out to squeeze over 20 km a liter from this small engine. If you think that is too high, the internal target for the engineers is to get the ARAI rating of 24-26 km per litre with a practical fuel economy of 20kmpl.

The new entry level car is expected to be built on global standards for the emerging markets. Renault has plans to export it to other markets such as Brazil, Russia, Africa and Indonesia.

The 'A Entry' will be launched somewhere in 2014-15 for a price of 3-4 lakh rupees. It will compete in an overcrowded segment consisting of Nano, Alto 800, A-Star, Eon, Santro and the lot.

This definitely means that Renault Nissan have no plans to use the Bajaj ULC project in the future. But the development pops up an interesting question –

Nissan is planning to revive the Datsun brand with two cars, the first of which is an entry level hatchback expected to be showcased the 2014 New Delhi Auto Expo. Is ‘A Entry’ a redesigned version of the Datsun hatchback?

Will history repeat itself?

[Source: Economictimes.indiatimes.com]