Renault India has joined the list of carmakers who will hike the prices of their models from January 2019. The French carmaker has announced that an upwards price revision by up to 1.5 per cent will come into effect from next month. The main drivers behind this decision are the increasing input costs and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. Rupee, as we know, has weakened in comparison to what it was against the USD this time last year.

Presently, Renault sells four models in India – Kwid, Lodgy, Duster and the Captur. Out of the lot, the Captur is the most expensive product. By taking the worst-case scenario, a hike of 1.5 per cent in the asking price of the range-topping variant of the Captur means an extra Rs 20,000 (approximately). That’s based on the ex-showroom Delhi price of the crossover. Earlier this year, the Lodgy disappointed in the crash-test conducted by Global NCAP.

Renault, as we know, is in an alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi. In India, Renault and Nissan share a common manufacturing facility, which is located in Oragadam, Chennai. The annual production capacity of the plant is 4.8 lakh units. Apart from that, the duo also has a technology centre and two design centres on our shores. Renault India currently has over 350 sales and 264 service touchpoints across the country.

In the future, Renault will be investing in India not just to expand its product portfolio and its footprint in India but also to increase the level of localisation. That will help it price the products more competitively in a price-sensitive market like India. As of now, it is the Kwid that’s buying bread and butter for the company. Next year, the French carmaker is expected to introduce a compact, Kwid-based MPV and the all-new Duster in India.