Stock Watch

While the news of Bajaj breaking its ties with Renault-Nissan has been flowing in the air for the past many days now, Bajaj Auto has recently said that the company has said that there is no break-up among the two parties and the partnership is intact.

It is to be mentioned here that the project has been delayed for two occasions already and is slated to be launched by 2012 in the Indian market.

After parting ways with the UV maker, M&M in the Indian market, the French automaker, has now decided to hunt for the Indian consumer on its own in the domestic circuit. Apart from the many other planned launches, the company also plans to launch the Dacia Duster in the Indian market.

While the car is on the Logan's platform, experts are supporting the fact that the car would soon come to India with a Renault badge. Apart from the Duster, the company also has bullish plans to bring the Renault Fluence saloon into the Indian market.

After the auto major M&M broke its ties with the French auto major Renault and purchased its stake in the JV, the company ahs has been trying very hard to get the product moving and grooving in the Indian market. The company has plans to launch a new variant of the product that will be less than four metres in length for the Indian consumer within the next 18 months.

After seven of the companies including Renault, M&M, Ruia Group recently filed their letter of intent for buying the troubled Korean automaker SsangYong Motor, sources confirm the fact that the company has finalised six names and will be inviting bids for the sale process.

In fact, the source also mentioned that M&M and Ruia Group are among the short listed buyers and will be submitting their bids for the automaker that it supposed to be worth close to $500 million. While the bids will be submitted by the July 20th this year, the final buyer will be announced by August.

After the news of M&M taking over the 49% stake of Renault in its loss-making JV for Logan hit the markets, the bookings and inquiries of the product has been on a high.

Notably, the product sold close to 450 units in the last month which was up as compared to the 427 units that the company banked in the corresponding period last year.

It may be noted here that the company sold 303 units in April and 351 units in March while the level of 272 units was the lowest achieved in December last year.

After its bad start with the Logan, Renault is confident of its success in the Indian market. The company is of a view within the time frame of 2011 and 2013; the French auto maker Renault will launch five new models in the Indian market.

While out of the five, one will be a compact car from the company, it also has bullish plans take up its dealership network to around 70 outlets by the year 2013.

It has been widely believed that the luxury sedan Fluence and crossover vehicle Koleos will also be a part of the five models that the company will launch in the Indian market.

Renault launched its new first modern vehicle with an OEM rotating seat. Clio hatchback would be leaving the Indian car market with a new technology. The car would be making its way to North America.

It was seen from the Renault press release that the passenger seat could be rotated to a 75 degree angle. With the help of this rotation, the passenger can align his or her legs. A small lever is located under the seat, which helps the passenger to control the actuator.

Carmaker Renault which has a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra for making Logan sedan for Indian market has announced that it will operate in the country with its own dealer network. It plans to start with 15 dealers by mid-2011 and increase to 150 in the next 30 months, the company said.

French car maker Renault said that its Indian unit is planning to start an independent distribution network in India. This decision of the company is seen as a step to increase its market in India.

The independent nationwide network of Renault would take a time of 30 months to complete. Currently Renault shares a distribution network with Mahindra and Mahindra, an Indian automotive giant.

French automobile manufacturer Renault has been trying to break into the booming Indian automobiles sector for many years now, but is still stuck at a red light. Now, the company is looking to try its luck once more by joining hands with Bajaj and introducing to the market a range of low-cost, good performance vehicles.