Renault kicks off hybrid push with Duster comeback

French carmaker Renault aims to be one of the top-selling hybrid carmakers in India with the launch of the all-new Duster as it sees diesel customers switching to hybrid powertrains for fuel efficiency.

“We believe hybrid is not the future, but the present. It’s the ideal replacement for buyers looking to switch from diesel-powered cars,” Francisco Hidalgo, vice president of sales and marketing at Renault India, told reporters.

For Renault, a lot is riding on the Duster brand. Introduced in India in 2012, the Duster soon became a popular SUV, selling more than 2 lakh units, before it was phased out in 2022. Prices of the new Duster with turbo petrol start at Rs 10.49 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Deliveries are expected to begin from April. The carmaker has yet to reveal the price of the hybrid variant.

“India’s mid-size SUV segment is very competitive. It’s fair to say that we are not going to become the best-seller overnight,” says Hidalgo.

The French carmaker plans to meet the India demand first before looking at exports. “Our strategy is to focus on India. If you are not cost competitive in India, you are out of the market. You need to have a lot of features because the Indian customer is much more demanding in terms of features and performance. If you succeed in India and get things right, then exports are going to come like a piece of cake, especially with the exchange rate that we have today,” says Hidalgo.

Last year, Renault bought out its global alliance partner Nissan’s 51% stake in Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd to take over full ownership of the manufacturing plant in Chennai. Renault India has a production capacity of 5 lakh cars at its Chennai plant. “Today, we are producing around 2 lakh cars,” says Hidalgo.

Renault, which entered India in 2011, was unable to update its product lineup until 2025 as the company’s global operations were impacted after it exited Russia following the Russia-Ukraine war. Consequently, owing to an ageing product portfolio in the Indian market, Renault India’s sales declined 17% year-on-year to 38,636 units in FY25, with its market share dropping from 1.18% in FY24 to 0.93% in FY25.

Hidalgo, however, says the carmaker is in India for the long term. “Our market share in India is way too low for what our intention is. India has the potential in our plan to be Top 5 best-selling countries in the world,” he says adding that anywhere between “3% and 5% market share by 2030 world be good” in India.

EVs can wait

While the new platform for the Duster can also be used for electric vehicles, Renault is still waiting for electric car sales to pick up. “We made the choice to bring s platform that is EV ready. As soon as there is a good natural demand coming for EVs, we will enter. We need to go step by step. The first step is the Duster with hybrid. I don’t think it makes sense for Renault right now to bring a technology that is selling with 4% penetration,” says Hidalgo.

“Most of the EV sales across the world are pushed by novelty. It’s like fashion. If there is a new car that comes, people buy it. If you look at the lifecycle, it goes up very high and then down for most cars,” he adds. “4% is not good enough for us to make a jump. We will not be late.”

On being asked why the company went with only the turbo engine and not a naturally aspirated engine for the Duster, Hidalgo says, “Our strategy for petrol is clearly on turbo.” The carmaker also did not introduce a four-wheel drive trim for the Duster. In the old Duster, all-wheel drive sales used to be less than 5%.

Renault India said in major metro markets, nearly 40% of customers opted for the hybrid during pre-bookings. Renault confirmed that planned hybrid capacity for 2026 is already fully allocated, with bookings set to reopen ahead of deliveries around Diwali. The bookings for the hybrid trim opened on January 26, 2026 and were halted today.

Internationally, Renault is positioning India to become a production and supply centre, serving both local and global markets by manufacturing a full range of Nissan models (its alliance partner), in particular.