Mumbai: French carmaker Renault, which has entered the MPV market earlier this month with the Lodgy and will roll out its compact car in the sub-Rs 4-lakh segment next month, Monday said it hopes to double its market share and sales to about one lakh units this year.
"We are sure of doubling our sales this calendar year. We sold about 49,000 units in 2014. I am confident of achieving the target as we have everything in place-- right products at the right price and the right marketing and sales strategies," Renault India country head and managing director Sumit Sawhney told a select group of reporters here today.
With around 40 percent market share, the sub-Rs 4-lakh segment is the single-largest car market in the country, which is dominated by Maruti Suzuki with its multiple models and Hyundai at a distant second place.
The rest of the players like Tata Motors, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, GM and Ford, among others, are also-rans with under 1-5 percent market share each.
Renault India enjoys around two percent market share currently, primarily driven by its popular Duster, its compact SUV launched in July 2012 selling over 1.25 lakh units since then, and Sawhney reiterated his company's resolve to corner five percent market share by the end of 2016.
The auto sector has been undergoing tough times in the past many years. After two successive years of degrowth, car sales rose by 4.99 percent in 2014-15, as lower fuel prices and softening of interest rates led to reduction in the overall cost of ownership.
According to the SIAM data, car sales in 2014-15 stood at 18,76,017 units, up from 17,86,826 units a year ago. In 2013-14, car sales had fallen by 4.65 percent from 18,74,055 units and in 2012-13, it had fallen by 6.69 percent, which was the first decline in a decade.
In 2014-15, total vehicle sales across categories were up 7.22 percent at 1,97,52,580 units from 1,84,23,223 units in 2013-14 fiscal.
To double the sales this year, Renault will be increasing its sales and service centres from the present 157 to 205 each by December and to 280 sales offices and 205 service centres by the end of 2016, Sawhney said.
