May 2, 2013: The Renault Duster is soon to be exported to South Africa and Indonesia from Chennai. This was recently confirmed by Toshihiko Sano, managing director, Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL). Sano also said that with the facelifts of the Micra hatchback, Sunny midsizer and Datsun models scheduled for this fiscal, production at the RNAIPL facility in Chennai will go up to 340,000 units this year.

This is a 70 percent increase from the 200,000 units produced last fiscal. The Sunny and the Micra are exported to 21 countries, with volumes hovering between 8,000 and 10,000 each month. Localisation levels, at present, stand at 85 percent for these models.

In mid-March 2013, the first shipment of right-hand-drive Dacia Dusters for UK customers, which had left Renault India's Chennai plant and Ennore Port in Chennai on November 30, 2012, arrived at the Newcastle deep water port from the Alliance plant in Chennai, India.

There are three export variants of the Dacia Duster SUV – 1.6-litre petrol, 110bhp and 90bhp diesel. A 4x4 version has also been developed specifically for the export market. Renault India imports crucial components for the 4x4 model, fits them at the Oragadam plant and then exports the SUV, rebadged as the Dacia Duster.

KARTHIK H