[MAS]

The Duster's pricing was eating into me and i decided to see the selling price of the Duster when compared to the Fluence in Morocco.

The Diesel Fluence sales price is as follows



While the Duster sales price is as follows



If you compare the top version of Duster (Winner 4 x 2) { I have considered this version as we may not get the 4 x 4 in India }

vs the 85 bhp 1.5 dCi Fluence; Duster is 14% lower
vs the 115 bhp 1.5 dCi Fluence; Duster is 22% lower

If we extrapolate this pricing to India,
vs the 85 bhp 1.5 dCi Fluence @ 11.99 Lakhs less 14% = 10.31 Lakhs
vs the 115 bhp 1.5 dci Fluence @ 15.20 Lakhs less 22% = 11.86 Lakhs

If we use the original price of the 85 bhp Fluence @13.5 Lakhs less 14% = 11.61 Lakhs.

Considering the calculations above, the Duster could be launched between 9.5 - 11.5 Lakhs in India, which is way too high.

But, even if we take the prices of the Duster in Morocco
Ambiance @ 150,900 Moroccan Dirham (MAD) x Rs. 6.20 = Rs. 935,580
Winner @ 170,900 Moroccan Dirham (MAD) x Rs. 6.20 = Rs. 1,059,580;
the prices are still quite high.

I hope Renault prove my calculations wrong and launch it at a much cheaper price.

[Rigid Rotor]

Originally Posted by MAS

The Duster's pricing was eating into me and i decided to see the selling price of the Duster when compared to the Fluence in Morocco.
...I hope Renault prove my calculations wrong and launch it at a much cheaper price.

There's one important point you may have missed out - the Fluence is largely assembled (CKD/CBD) and that drives up the duties and its price, whereas the Duster is expected to have a large local component - with a consequent lower price point. So, it may not be accurate in our context to do a straight percentage comparison between the Fluence & Duster, proportional to Morroco prices.
Incidentally if we do a straight price conversion of the 4x4 price in Morrocco, it works out to Rs 12.6 lakhs.

[Animesh]

Originally Posted by MAS

The Duster's pricing was eating into me and i decided to see the selling price of the Duster when compared to the Fluence in Morocco.

I can't put this mildly, but this calculation is missing the big factor of Import duties and other taxes on Imported components/ CKDs.

As a matter of fact, going by your very calculations, if we were to do some crude calculations and deduct taxes on locally manufactured cars, then Duster is going to be way way cheaper.

The truth of pricing is expected to lie somewhere in between and hence this broad speculated range of Rs. 7.5 to 10 lacs.

[AWD]

Looking at Renault cars in India so far, I won't bet on good pricing for Duster. All their vehicles are priced on the higher side. CKD/CBU, etc. a company has to settle this prior to launch which is complete only with a matching/suitable price tag. Pulse, Fluence & Koleos, are all priced higher.

[Digital Vampire]

Originally Posted by Animesh

The truth of pricing is expected to lie somewhere in between and hence this broad speculated range of Rs. 7.5 to 10 lacs.

Why do you think the pricing of Duster would lie between Rs. 7.5 to 10 lacs?

All I see is wild (lower) pricing speculations when there is not even an iota of information from the manufacturer or credible sources on the variants, accurate trim levels or even ball-park pricing.

Or did I totally miss some credible information in this long thread? If yes, please enlighten me on this clamor for a sub-10 lac SUV and I will also start day-dreaming

At best, aren't we being HUGELY optimistic? And that too with a manufacturer who couldn't price any of their products lower than the competition so far.

I'm also waiting for the Duster (only if it comes with a AWD/4WD option) to augment my current vehicle (Tucson) but I'm fully prepared to be disappointed by the pricing.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Pricing, as they say, is a matter of strategy. Let's see what Renault's strategy is in India. Their two launched cars aren't doing too well in terms of number. Is that purely because of pricing? I wonder.

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Pricing, as they say, is a matter of strategy. Let's see what Renault's strategy is in India. Their two launched cars aren't doing too well in terms of number. Is that purely because of pricing? I wonder.

I would say 3 reasons:
1. Brand recongnition
2. Dealer / Service network
3. Few offerings

[Sudipto-S-Team]

And also perhaps the Logan legacy, though personally I think the Logan is a very sensible no nonsense car that looks a little sedate. It was just wrongly priced and positioned. It should have been initially positioned as a no-frills family car. They tried to position it as a luxury car which it clearly didn't look like.

[Nilesh5417]

We have no direct comparison to duster or ecosport but imagine them providing the same feature set as the LUV-Ertiga. Checks all the right boxes but isn't really the most perfect. The mantra is flexibility and it probably hits the sweet spot. Its a 5 seater that provides the flexibility of turning into an occasional 7 seater. It is bigger than a hatch but not completely the MUV. Its so urban yet can take you to that occasional highway trip.

I would assume the dusters and ecosports doing this for the SUVs. They will probably not offer what an XUV or the Safari offer today but they wouldn't be your gypsy/bolero either. I'm hope i'm making sense here. If thats where they ought to be slotted, the realistic price point is between where the sedans end and the XUV/Safaris start.
And the pricing will "probably" have not much to do with how renault/ford are doing today as a brand in India. If that keeps weighing on every manufacturers mind for every launch, everyone would price their cars cheaper than Maruti/Hyundai! Every launch is an opportunity to turn the corner, hit that jackpot and you can't always let the past weigh you down.
Comparing apples to apples, they will definitely watch for the kind of pricing the segment itself commands. So i would assume the duster and ecosport to be watching each other.
Since we are all guessing, your guess is as good as mine though.

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

......

That is well said, sort of my thoughts too. What I see additionally that might affect the pricing is the "first move" advantage that the Duster/Ecosport might have. When you define the segment first you can afford to make a bigger kill (read profit margins) until competition evens out the pricing. This is true for all products and not unique to cars. That is where I see Renault could get greedy :-). So with ford too. Do you believe the Ertiga Diesel is priced right? I do not think so, but then Maruthi has this first in the segment advantage. (in a sense the Innova is still enjoying it, for the lack of proper competitor, else how do you justify a 13.5 L 7 seater?).

As an axiom of this is the XUV, it challenged the segment with a pricing and look at the numbers. Easily the XUV could have been 15 L, assuming if it had been the segment first! Its a disruptive marketing style they adopted. XUV's statement was "you can have what you wished in a 20 L car but at this :-) price" (the product more or less matches to the words), but you get the argument.

Now this advantage is what I see Renault could use. But then time will tell.

[swiftdiesel]

The Renault India website has the Duster page with an option to book a test drive. Are the test drive vehicles already available with dealers?

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

The Renault India website has the Duster page with an option to book a test drive. Are the test drive vehicles already available with dealers?

Thanks for sharing that. I have promptly booked one for myself by entering the necessary details. Got the message "Thank you for booking a test drive of the Renault Duster. We will get back to you soon." How soon would be this "soon", fingers crossed. I believe the recent spate of news from Ford Ecosport might have prompted Renault to make some quick moves.

[asdon]

Saw one black Duster yesterday, near Hosur!!! I wonder if test vehicles are on their way to Bangalore, the vehicle was not camouflaged, just the Renault Badge was covered, and it looked big on road, lets see if there is any update over this week.

[zulfi hansi]

The price war that we are having here, my take on this is that, by all means the yardstick for pricing of Duster is XUV first and then Eco sport, but if ECOsport comes first than only that will be the bone of contention for Renault. This may sound unlikely but if you see that there is no proper SUV under 15 L, (Scorpio & Safari not counted for this as they form their own segment), so what we are or Renault left with is the XUV. But if Eco sport is launched first than the entire focus will be on it. So now both are playing the waiting game?

That said, the worst case here and the most likely is that, that both Ford and Renault have a track record of pricing their cars out off the market (Ford got lucky with Ikon & Figo and to some extent old Fiesta, but Renault has been a dud from the start) and yet not really bothered about the consequences in the long run, cannot figure out why, why launch a car at a price which it will never sell for?

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Thanks for sharing that. I have promptly booked one for myself by entering the necessary details. Got the message "Thank you for booking a test drive of the Renault Duster. We will get back to you soon." How soon would be this "soon", fingers crossed. I believe the recent spate of news from Ford Ecosport might have prompted Renault to make some quick moves.

I was surprised to see the reply from Renault in my inbox today (given that I had requested for the Duster TD just yesterday). However after opening the e-mail it turned out to be a "Faux pas". Reproducing their reply to me below:

Dear Sir,

Thanks for writing to Renault India Customer Care, as of now we have three products available that is Fluence, Koleos and Renault Pulse. Kindly request you let us know which product test drive you are looking out for so that the same details will be sent to the nearest dealer they will get in touch with you at the earliest.

Warm Regards,

Renault Contact Center
Contact: 1800-300-44444(Toll free – 09:00am to 08:00pm
7 Days a week)

It is beyond my imagination, how can they goof up this big. When I book the TD of Duster they flash a message "Thank you for booking a test drive of the Renault Duster. We will get back to you soon." And now they offer me the TDs of all their vehicles except Duster. This goes to show that, till such time the Duster hits the Indian roads it is going to be a big jamboree at Renault India.