Renault adds small 7-seat crossover in India

PARIS -- Renault has added to its model range in India with the Triber, a small seven-seat crossover that is less than 4000 mm (158 inches) long.

The Triber is based on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance's CMF-A platform, which underpins the Kwid SUV, which was an instant success when it was first introduced in 2015, selling more than 100,000 units in its first full year on the market, but sales have declined since then to about half that rate.

In addition to the Kwid and Triber, Renault sells the Duster and Captur SUVs. The Triber will be built at Renault's factory in Chennai and go on sale in the second half of this year "at a competitive price" to comparable five-seat models, the company said.

The Triber is part of Renault's Global Access Range of low-cost vehicles. It will also be sold elsewhere, Renault CEO Thierry Bollore said in a news release. "The Triber was conceived, developed and produced in India, for Indian customers first, before we take it to the world," he said.

The Triber is the second new Global Access car this year, following the Arkana four-door coupe crossover, which will be sold in Russia, South Korea and China.

The Triber's exterior styling contains SUV cues such as roof bars, skid plates and black plastic wheel arches. Ground clearance is 182 mm, which Renault says gives it the ability to handle rough roads.

Inside, the Triber has a digital instrument cluster and an eight-inch central touch screen with connectivity features. Renault is emphasizing the Triber's modularity, with dozens of different seat combinations, including removal of the third row. Seven adults can fit "comfortably" in the car, Renault says.

That seating configuration is important for India, said Harikrishnan Chandran, Renault's product planning manager in India, who noted that more than half of car-owning households in India have at least four adults.

The Triber will have a 72-hp version of Renault's three-cylinder gasoline engine used in European models such as the Clio and Dacia Sandero. It is 3990 mm long, 1739 mm wide and 1643 tall. By comparison, Renault's smallest crossover in Europe, the Captur, is 4139 mm long, 1778 mm wide and 1556 mm tall.

India is the world's fourth-largest automotive market, after China, the U.S. and Germany, and many analysts predict it will soon be No. 3. However, sales have fallen sharply this year, with passenger-car registrations down by 16 percent in April compared with 2018.

Renault's sales have fallen 13 percent through May, to 31,398, compared with the same period in 2018. Renault's goal is to reach annual sales of 200,000 by 2022.

A report this month from LMC Automotive attributes the decline to uncertainties ahead of May's general election, a slowing economy, a weak rupee and tight credit conditions. The convincing victory of the incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is reason for optimism in the second half of the year, LMC said.

Nonetheless, LMC said it was revising downward its forecast for India through 2026. Light vehicle sales, including commercial vehicles of six tons or less, are likely to reach 3.97 million units, a 0.3 percent decline from 2018, with passenger vehicles down by 1 percent, to 3.19 million sales. By 2026, light-vehicle sales should reach 5.91 million units, a 6 percent annual growth rate.