[GTO]

Renault-Nissan move on to the Micra (and other future products). Expect Mahindra to introduce a Logan "CS) (i.e. sub 4 meter cheaper variant), rebrand and reprice. Very soon, the Logan will be targetting an entirely new segment of buyer. The car started a notch above the Indigo (at the time of introduction), but will now be positioned lower.

Related threads for those interested in the subject:
Logan will not die
Logan prices slashed. End of the road?
Renault can break ties with any partner
And Mahindra's really cool dig The ideal car for love games

Excerpts from the press release:

- The parties have in principle agreed that M&M will take over the operations of the company.

- Renault will continue to support M&M and the product through a License Agreement and supply of key components, including the engine and transmission.

- Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will buy Renault’s equity stake in MRPL resulting in MRPL becoming a 100% Mahindra group owned company

- M&M will be responsible for the management of the Logan in the Indian market

- The Renault name and logo will continue to be used on the Logan till the end of this calendar year

- Over the course of a transition period of about 18 months, M&M will:
a) Rename the car to a Mahindra owned brand name and the car shall then only display the Mahindra logo
b) Create a refresh and other modifications in line with customer expectations
c) Execute additional localization to reduce costs

- Other vehicles built on the Logan platform by Renault globally, such as the Sandero, are not included in this new agreement.

[musicmanaman]

Don't know if this is good new or bad news, but this certanly is some news, I always liked the Logan, and felt it should be priced a little lower.

[ashutoshb]

What it means:

- Mahindra has full control over the Logan. Unlike earlier, it now can make whatever changes to the car, it may like.

- After 18 months, Mahindra can stop using the Renault badge and can rename the car.

- Renault didn't want to be known as the manufacturer which makes boxy cars like the Logan. It now has gotten rid itself of the Logan's baggage and can now start afresh.


What we can expect now from Mahindra:

- Since now it is free to do whatever with the Logan, they can bring in the updates they wanted at the first place. They can restyle it, they can introduce as many variants they want, which can include the Logan hatch, the Logan CS or updating the current sedan.

- Things aren't clear on this front, but if Renault has agreed on Mahindra making style changes, Mahindra can get rid of the current pig nose and bring in something more classy (like the silver grill on the Optra).


----



As an existing owner I am not quite happy with Renault's decision. Don't know how many buyers considered the Logan as a car from Mahindra, but I always knew about Renault's background and the kind of cars they make. I knew it was a Dacia, engineered by Renault. And I knew that it was a good car, doing well in east Europe. Had I not known about Renault, then for me it would have been Mahindra's first attempt at making sedans, and I wouldn't have bought the Logan.

In my opinion, Renault deserted its existing buyers. Ideally, it should have bought Mahindra's stake, make changes in the Logan and make it sell. If unsuccessful in doing so, it should have replaced the Logan with a fresher offering. But it decided to opt out of it, escape from it, indicating that it will back off if it sees losses. Does that mean it will run off again if the Clios and Fluences fail? Deserting the existing buyers again?

There goes my brand loyalty. I am not gonna buy a Renault ever.

In this whole saga, Mahindra comes out as a winner. All these years, It was Mahindra which pushed for updates but Renault kept resisting. Mahindra kept pushing till this decision was taken. Mahindra is known for continuously updating its products save for the Logan. Now that Mahindra is the full owner, it agrees to take the responsibiliy of the Logan and make it work. Ensuring confidence in the buyers, that it is here and will not leave them high and dry.

This deal b/w Mahindra & Renault is for five years. So for atleast five years we will be seeing 'Mahindra Logans' in various avatars on our roads.

Now improve your A.S.S. a little, Mahindra.

[AbhiJ]

Hopefully mahindra will take quick and aggressive deicisions and make the car better looking ..

[ramzsys]

Logan is officially Indianised, good news, and perhaps expect a better service treatment for new and existing owners. I dont know what is happening to the hatchback-notchback segment, all simple elegant line designs replaced by ugly, funky, out of the box designed cars- swift, ritz, figo, beat and now logan CS- and in distant future the novo fiat uno.

[SDP]

It would be interesting to see if Mahindra partners with sombody else or decide to go solo in the hatch/sedan market by piggybacking on their Scorpio/Bolero expertise.

On a separate note, when would Renault be entering the Indian market on their own? I believe they had displayed a few models in the AutoExpo'2010 including the cute 2-seater.

[vasanthn21]

I think this is good news.

With the re-branding, the "taxi" tag associated with it should also take a back seat.

Many have observed that the car is great, but the interiors were disappointing and the pricing was a tad higher. Now, they will be free to customize the car to Indian buyers' needs.

Mahindra have shown in the last half decade that they are serious contenders in the India Auto Market, but still do not have a foothold in the "Sedan" segment. This might be their chance. If they handle the situation well, they should make good use of this opportunity.

[safari_lover]

Why does Mahindra want to hold on to the Logan?
I mean it would have been easy for them to exit from the venture and concentrate on their core business - Utility vehicles.
Does it also indicate that Mahindra wants to stay in the sedans segment and probably build their own cars in future?

BTW, what happens post Dec 2010 - will the car be renamed as Mahindra Logan or Mahindra somethingelse?

[narayan]

Originally Posted by safari_lover

Why does Mahindra want to hold on to the Logan?
I mean it would have been easy for them to exit from the venture and concentrate on their core business - Utility vehicles.
Does it also indicate that Mahindra wants to stay in the sedans segment and probably build their own cars in future?

BTW, what happens post Dec 2010 - will the car be renamed as Mahindra Logan or Mahindra somethingelse?

precisely - beats me - why will M&M want to be in cars when their core expertise lies elsewhere. unless they have some BIG plans to take on the TATAs in the car market

[ashutoshb]

Originally Posted by SDP

On a separate note, when would Renault be entering the Indian market on their own? I believe they had displayed a few models in the AutoExpo'2010 including the cute 2-seater.

Please see this thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...os-2011-a.html

Originally Posted by safari_lover

Why does Mahindra want to hold on to the Logan?
I mean it would have been easy for them to exit from the venture and concentrate on their core business - Utility vehicles.
Does it also indicate that Mahindra wants to stay in the sedans segment and probably build their own cars in future?

Originally Posted by narayan

precisely - beats me - why will M&M want to be in cars when their core expertise lies elsewhere. unless they have some BIG plans to take on the TATAs in the car market

Which manufacture does not want to expand?

Logan was their entry to the sedan segment. And if things had gone right, Sandero was to the 'so lucrative' hatch segment.

[indivic]

I interpret this as a positive news, Mahindra get a "platform", one that has potential - it rides well, the suspension is rugged, good wheelbase and track and it is not heavy.
They can bung in a smaller capacity diesel from their line up- probably the rumoured triple from the 2.2 CRDE.

Like Maruti/Ford and M&M themselves who keep churning out products which have almost the same wheelbase , this platform can be used for many products including the sub-4 m SUV that M&M are planning.

I dont know if Renault has put in some non-compete or IP clauses in this agreement in which case my assumption is completely incorrect. I would normally expect that M&M has to pay some royalty to Renault if they develop more products on this platform.

[Neur0t0xin]

In my opinion Mahindra sholuld have let go of the Logan, lest it turns a liability for them, and as someone rightly pointed out concentrate on the utility segment and bring that world SUV we've all been waiting for.

The logan is a good reliable car and would have been successful if it had been priced lower inspite of its boxy features. Hope mahindra does the right things for it to survive the indian market.

Originally Posted by ashutoshb

What we can expect now from Mahindra:

- Things aren't clear on this front, but if Renault has agreed on Mahindra making style changes, Mahindra can get rid of the current pig nose and bring in something more classy (like the silver grill on the Optra).

On a lighter note, I see mahindra changing the existing grill with its corporate grill after 18 months.

[auto-one]

Originally Posted by ashutoshb

In my opinion, Renault deserted its existing buyers. Ideally, it should have bought Mahindra's stake, make changes in the Logan and make it sell. If unsuccessful in doing so, it should have replaced the Logan with a fresher offering. But it decided to opt out of it, escape from it, indicating that it will back off if it sees losses. Does that mean it will run off again if the Clios and Fluences fail? Deserting the existing buyers again?

In this whole saga, Mahindra comes out as a winner. All these years, It was Mahindra which pushed for updates but Renault kept resisting. Mahindra kept pushing till this decision was taken. Mahindra is known for continuously updating its products save for the Logan. Now that Mahindra is the full owner, it agrees to take the responsibiliy of the Logan and make it work. Ensuring confidence in the buyers, that it is here and will not leave them high and dry.

I agree with you,ashutoshb.I feel this is going to affect Renault when it introduces new models in the market.Customers would not trust a company that ditches them. Renault could have exited the JV much later, after launching its new offering in the market.
No doubt,Mahindra would strive hard to make the car commercially successful, but still, it would not be that easy for them, considering better options in the market and the failure of the Logan brand

[yasw_anth]

I had been to Renault convention centre/office in paris for a small seminar and came to know that Renault is planning to enter the Indian market in 2011/12 with their luxury vehicles KOLEOS and LAGUNA

[jkdas]

Logan was what Peugeot 206 to us ! Theythought they can take us for a ride with outdated model.

BUT, I guess the engine was their strong point ( and pricing ?) . I have seen people 'utilizing' the diesel engine well which had made me a fan of the Logan to some extend.

Can a facelift and rebading help it sell better? I hope they do promote it well ( a thing that Tata does well ).