Renault forays into pre-owned car market

Words by Abhishek Wairagade

Renault has opened its first pre-owned cars outlet, dubbed ‘Renault Selection’ in Bangalore in the wake of rising demand for used cars. The very first outlet opened in partnership with Trident Auto, will be followed by Nagpur, Jaipur and Chandigarh in the coming days.

The showroom based in Narayanpura Village, Bangalore has a display capacity of 100 cars. Pre-owned cars of several brands will be put on display and will be available for exchange. Also, Renault’s pre-owned certified cars will be on offer. Every car will be put through 199 quality tests and will be offered with a warranty of 1 year and up to 20,000 km. Road-side assistance will be provided for all the cars for 1 year. Cash-less claims facility will be provided for all the cars in 1000 outlets around the country.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Sumit Sawhney, CEO & MD, Renault India said, “Estimates suggest that the pre-owned car market is nearly 3 times of the size of new car volumes in Western Europe, UK and US. In India, the used car market is already more than the new car volume and it is estimated to reach twice the size of the new market within the next 5 years. Given this, Renault Selection will play an important role building the Renault brand in India.”

Renault India’s current product portfolio includes Scala, Fluence, Koleos, Lodgy, Pulse along with the much popular SUV Duster and the recently launched mini hatch, Kwid. The company was aiming to gain up to 5 per cent market share in the Indian automobile industry by 2017, but observing the sales numbers of the Kwid, the figure seems to be achievable by the end of 2016 itself, as claimed by Renault India.