Renault India has started the export of its popular SUV from India to UK and Ireland on 30th November when it released its first batch of 350 Duster SUVs from Chennai port. In UK, these cars are branded under Dacia’s brand name and sold as Dacia Duster. These two counties use the RHD models of the Duster so not much is changed in these cars compared to Indian models. But one major difference in the export cars is that the export models consist of both 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive models which will be sold in UK and Ireland. In India, only 2 wheel drive or 4×2 is sold whereas the Duster 4×4 has not been launched in India as yet.
Considering the high demand, with over 19,000 Duster sold in about 5 months of launch, there are bleak chances of a 4×4 model launch in India soon as the Duster production is already near its full capacity and there is a waiting period for getting a Duster in India. We expect 4×4 to launch in India sometime in future, maybe in late 2013 or so.
In Britain, the new Dacia Dusters will go on sales in January 2013 through 127 dealerships of Renault where it has appointed special sales personnel and space for showcasing the Duster. The base variant of the Duster is priced close to £9,000 in UK which is approximately Rs. 8 Lakhs. Duster is almost equally priced and considering the disposable incomes in that country, the car is much more affordable there compared to that in India.
For UK Markets, the powertrain of the Dacia Duster includes a 1. 6litre petrol engine with 104 BHP of peak power and a 1.5 dCi engine with 108 BHP. The petrol motor is mated to a 5 speed manual while the diesel is coupled to a 6 speed manual transmission system.
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