Renault Captur to launch in India to rival the EcoSport - Report

05/02/2015 - 17:52 Renault Captur, Renault Paranjay Dutt

India-spec Captur to be a sub-4 meter variant.

According to a report by Business Standard, the Renault Captur will launch in India around 2018. While the company declined to comment when contacted by the publication, sources suggest that a sub-4 meter length will likely be adopted to get excise duty benefits.

As it is, the Captur is 4,122 mm long and needs some tinkering to get small car benefits.

Renault Captur at the 2014 Indonesia International Motor Show front — The engine options for the India-spec Renault Captur could include the existing 1.5-litre diesel and 1.2-litre petrol units.

The crossover will rival the Ford EcoSport and Maruti's upcoming offering in the segment, codenamed YBA. Engines expected to the vehicle include the ubiquitous 1.5-litre K9K diesel and the 1.2-litre petrol used on the V-Platform models. In Europe, the Captur was launched in April 2013, and accounted for almost 200,000 unit sales in the calendar year 2014.

The report continues, that according to the estimates given to part suppliers, the company is looking to make about 5,000 units per month of the Captur. In comparison, the Ford EcoSport manages an average of 4,400 units, while Renault's own Duster (which doesn't benefit from a sub-4 meter length) does about 3,300 units per month (average sales from the last six months).

Ford EcoSport front at the 2014 Thailand Motor Expo — The sub-4 meter Ford EcoSport will be the main rival, joined by Maruti's upcoming YBA compact crossover.

Also read: 2017 Renault Koleos will offer three row seating

As for this year, Renault has the Lodgy MPV in the pipeline, which will be launched in both standard and Stepway versions, and the Maruti Alto-rivalling new small car (codenamed Renault XBA).

Competitors: Maruti XA Alpha (YBA), VW Taigun, Tata Nexon, Honda Brio-based SUV, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra S101