The Topsy Turvy ride of Renault Captur comes to an end in India

Renault India has announced that it will discontinue the Captur model in India. Captur’s journey never saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and has succumbed to its poor show in the Indian market. Right from its launch in 2017, the model never ever made an impact in the market, be it the styling or the pricing. What Renault thought could help it barge into the Indian market and regain its lost glory, actually made its name slip deeper, with the model not even making it to the choice list for the customers looking for the best in the range. Indian customers usually look for traditional, masculine and heavy features (at least in appearance) when speaking of SUV’s, and could never imagine nor consider the softy Captur as an SUV. Captur – an  SUV, really?, was the general thought.  Making an impact in the most sought after segment, that too against formidable players, is definitely tough. The company that opened up the segment in India with Duster, the most sought after segment in the recent past, could now hardly compete against its rivals. Hyundai’s Creta literally pushed Captur to the brink, but what came as a death blow could be Kia’s Seltos.

Captur’s sales figures in India though were mediocre from the beginning, is a completely different story in the rest of the world. Captur was the second best-selling vehicle for Renault globally at least until 2019. The model actually helped the brand expand its presence in markets like Brazil and Russia, and also put it in a commendable position in Europe. The makers couldn’t translate its global success in India, may be they just did not read the Indian minds well.

The below graph shows Captur’s performance gloabally, since its inception in 2013, and its last 12 months performance in India –

Global Performance Source – Jato

So, what could’ve gone wrong – was it the timing of the launch?, was it wrongly priced?, or was it just Too Much Hype –  Too Little features? Comment your thoughts.

(The article is written by Karthick. He is an auto enthusiast, and an engineer by profession, currently employed in an auto MNC at Chennai; has a craving on new tech and a particular interest on the Indian automotive market.)