Clash of the titans: Here’s why Mahindra should beware of Renault

Being the uncrowned king of utility vehicle segment, Mahindra has some serious competition to worry about. Renault, who has already shook the small car market with path breaking Kwid, is now planning to launch a couple of utility vehicle soon.

While no official statement has been made, The Economic Times found that two vehicles on the CMF-A platform are likely to be rolled out. To be priced between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, these two cars will be filling the gap between the entry-level Kwid and the new Duster and HHA.


Mahindra has been putting efforts to create a new segment with the S101 micro SUV. Renault has now set its sights on the space occupied by the Mahindra XUV500 and plans to launch a new SUV, codenamed HHA, likely to be launched October 2017.

The vehicle, based on the globally successful Captur design, will be introduced before two compact vehicles - an SUV and an MPV - take shape on the Common Module Family-A (CMF-A) platform. In between, an all-new Duster is scheduled to hit the market in 2018.
Renault, which drove the compact urban SUV wave with Duster, had a 10% share in the utility vehicle market a few years ago. The share has shrunk to 7% now, with increased competition from Ford and Hyundai. To regain the lost market, Renault has planned to give a major facelift to Duster, including adding automatic transmission.

"The new premium SUV (HHA) is an emerging market derivative of the Captur. It is based on the Logan M0-B platform, with a highly successful European styling and it will have an all-new longer body for markets like India, Russia and Brazil, and meet the practicality of seven seats," a source told the ET.