[ampere]

What is the price range they are targeting ? My thoughts are they would be below the Cruze, since folks will distinguish between the 1.5dCi and 2.0L VCDi.

[Latheesh]

Average Indians did not know much about VW or Renault, but they believe German is better than Japanese. VW spent crores to create brand awareness and launched products. Other hand Renault collaborated with desi tractor maker Mahindra and launched a tomato box called Logan. Even if you look at the badge on Logan you can see that Mahindra comes first and Renault second. Even the text size was smaller than Mahindra. Collaborating with Mahindra was the bad move they did, they need to do lot of hard work to come out of this brand value/awareness issues.

They can bring their F1 team to India to create brand awareness also do something similar to POLO cup to find their future F1/test driver

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Average Indians did not know much about VW or Renault, but they believe German is better than Japanese. VW spent crores to create brand awareness and launched products. Other hand Renault collaborated with desi tractor maker Mahindra and launched a tomato box called Logan. Even if you look at the badge on Logan you can see that Mahindra comes first and Renault second. Even the text size was smaller than Mahindra. Collaborating with Mahindra was the bad move they did, they need to do lot of hard work to come out of this brand value/awareness issues.

They can bring their F1 team to India to create brand awareness also do something similar to POLO cup to find their future F1/test driver

Yes. for average Indian:

German>Jap>Korean=American>Indian {All other brands: 'I don't know what that is}

[designersf]

Originally Posted by volkman10

VW is a brand known in India relative to Renault.
It is now a herculean task for their marketing to come up with innovative campaign for brand awareness.

Cheers!

Agreed

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Average Indians did not know much about VW or Renault, but they believe German is better than Japanese. VW spent crores to create brand awareness and launched products. Other hand Renault collaborated with desi tractor maker Mahindra and launched a tomato box called Logan. Even if you look at the badge on Logan you can see that Mahindra comes first and Renault second. Even the text size was smaller than Mahindra. Collaborating with Mahindra was the bad move they did, they need to do lot of hard work to come out of this brand value/awareness issues.

They can bring their F1 team to India to create brand awareness also do something similar to POLO cup to find their future F1/test driver

Coming with Mahindra might have been a bad move but the Logan isn't that bad a car.

[ampere]

What worked for VW is that the "higher segments" had already made their entries and public knew about the brand as a good one.

But having said that, creating a brand value to the other levels of the market (lower, middle and upper middle class), which thinks its premium to buy, reliable and also aspirational is a BIG achievement.
Because here is where symbiosis of brand positioning and pricing, makes or breaks a deal for a product.

[aravind.anand]

Maybe they should create ads with Renault F1 cars zooming across tracks, then show the Fluence and say, "Now its your turn to get behind the wheels of a Renault" or something like that They should start very aggressive brand propaganda now. Else they can never get the reputation or brand recognition of the Germans or the Japanese.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

German>Jap>Korean=American>Indian {All other brands: 'I don't know what that is}

Korean? If you meant Hyundai; most Indians think that Hyundai is younger brother of Honda.

Originally Posted by designersf

Agreed

Coming with Mahindra might have been a bad move but the Logan isn't that bad a car.

Logan is not a bad car but as a first car to be launched in the country? hell no!.

[CARDEEP]

Surprise... for the first time (as far as I can recall) we are having the case of cheaper Diesel version as compared to the Petrol version. Renault is able to do so by skimping on few features from the Diesel version .

Here is the report as per ICB

2011 Renault Fluence Sedan: More Details Emerge! | Indian Cars & Motorcycles Blog

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

Surprise... for the first time (as far as I can recall) we are having the case of cheaper Diesel version as compared to the Petrol version. Renault is able to do so by skimping on few features from the Diesel version .

Here is the report as per ICB

2011 Renault Fluence Sedan: More Details Emerge! | Indian Cars & Motorcycles Blog

He he he! Now there is a true segment first feature now We can just hope and pray that the skimping is not on safety features like ABS and airbags. Nissan did that by removing ABS from Micra Diesel

[Latheesh]

Got a mail confirmation from RENAULT India customer care; launch date is 23-May-2011. No price details

[designersf]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Korean? If you meant Hyundai; most Indians think that Hyundai is younger brother of Honda.



Logan is not a bad car but as a first car to be launched in the country? hell no!.

Starting out with the Fluence would have been a better option. What say?

[good.car-ma]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Logan is not a bad car but as a first car to be launched in the country? hell no!.

Agreed that the styling is not very appealing but the car is a BRILLIANT car! Superb diesel engine, comfortable seats and excellent suspension to tackle bad roads. What more does one want?

And I haven't heard a single Logan owner complain or regret their choice.

Logan

[aravind.anand]

Had the Fluence been launched as Renault's first vehicle in India, the brand value would have been a lot better than the brand recognition it currently enjoys. This does not mean that the Logan was a bad product. But the Lagan projected Renault as a car maker who makes cheap cars through cost cutting.

[Abhi_Automobile]

Guys, there seems to be a quick review by some not fancy journo. His first impressions are quite decent. I don't know how this 'cheaper diesel-costlier petrol' strategy will work but it surely is different. SO is the car's styling. Everybody who has looked at it says that it should stand out from a mundane looking crowd. I am surely willing to give it a shot, when it rolls out.

Renault's Fluence totally stands out amongst its competitors - The Economic Times

BTW, I know that hardly anybody knows about Renault in India but how is its reputation in Europe? For e.g. VW has good reputation in Europe and rest of the world not in US. What do people associate Renault brand with?

[anekho]

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

BTW, I know that hardly anybody knows about Renault in India but how is its reputation in Europe? For e.g. VW has good reputation in Europe and rest of the world not in US. What do people associate Renault brand with?

Hairdressers! :P

No but in general it's considered to be a regular family car, perhaps even a little feminine. Decently reliable and usually have an emphasis on safety.

Peugeot on the other hand are often chosen by younger drivers and in general are more fun to drive! Hope Peugeot come back to India with the 207!