2016-Year-end quote: Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Operations

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Year-end quote: Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Operations

2016 has been the biggest year for Renault in India

India is a priority market for Groupe Renault and plays an important role in Renault’s international growth. In a short span of time, Renault has grown its presence exponentially, becoming one of the youngest and fastest growing automotive brands and the number one European brand in India. At Renault, we believe in the ‘power of declaration’ in terms of tangible business goals, backed by strategic measures across all key business dimensions, ranging from product, network expansion and measures to ensure customer delight. Over the last few years, we have had a single-minded focus on establishing a strong base in India and our journey is taking flight. We are on track with a 4.5 percent market share this calendar year, achieving a robust three-digit growth over 2015.

2016 has been the biggest year for Renault in India and our focus for 2017 will be to continue and build on our growth journey, reflecting our long-term commitment to the Indian market. We plan to launch at least one new product every year, over the next 5 years, beginning with some exciting product innovations starting next year. As we have done in the past, whatever be the product from Renault, it will be a game-changer which will redefine the segment, or create a sub-segment. In terms of our network reach, we grew from 205 to 270 facilities in 2016, making it one of the fastest ramp ups in the automotive industry. We will continue to build our network next year as well, with strategic measures to make our cars more accessible to customers across the country.

From an industry point of view, we surely look forward to intermittent pro-business policy decisions, such as the vehicle scrappage policy, finalization of GST rates and other proactive measures, which will give a further fillip to the automobile industry in the coming year.