CNG Powered Renault Cars Coming Soon
The French automaker Renault, at its FutuReady Event held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has announced its future plans for the Indian market. At this event, Renault has showcased the new RGEP, or Renault Group Entry Platform, which will serve as the base for the upcoming range of its affordable models in the country. It has also revealed that these models will be offered with a factory-fitted CNG kit to rival the popular CNG cars present in the country.
Presently, Renault does not offer any vehicle in its lineup in India which is offered with a CNG kit fitted from the factory. However, soon things will be changing, as the company, at its FutuReady Event, has showcased its newest Renault Group Entry Platform, or RGEP, in India. This new platform will be replacing the current CMF-A and CMF-A+ architecture, which underpins the Kwid, Kiger and Triber.
The new Renault Group Entry Platform will be a modular platform which will be able to offer a wheelbase from 3,731 mm to 3,985 mm. This sub-4m platform will underpin the next generation of the Kwid hatchback, Kiger sub-compact SUV and the Triber affordable 7-seater MPV in India. What will also be important is that this new platform, apart from the standard ICE powertrain, will also be offering a CNG powertrain as well.
Currently, Renault India offers the Kwid and the Kiger, along with the Triber, with CNG kits fitted at the dealership. The CNG kit for the Kwid costs Rs 75,000. Meanwhile, the same for the Kiger and Triber costs Rs 79,500. And they can only be opted for with the manual gearbox variants. The AMT and CVT gearbox-equipped cars do not get this option. These retrofit kits are offered with a 3-year warranty.
However, with the announcement of the new RGEP architecture, it has been announced that the new generation of affordable Renault cars will be offered with a factory-fitted CNG kit. It is very likely that the company could offer a dual-cylinder or single-cylinder underbody CNG kit to ensure that the boot space remains intact. This will be especially important, as currently the retrofitted CNG kits take up a lot of space in the boot.
Apart from this information, it has also been noted that the RGEP architecture-using models will also get AMT and CVT gearbox options. It could be possible that the new generation Kwid, Kiger and Triber could get these gearbox options with the CNG version as well. As mentioned, presently the retrofitted CNG kits are only offered with the manual gearbox-equipped cars.
Most likely, the CNG versions of the new generation Renault Kwid, Kiger and Triber will continue to offer the same 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre naturally aspirated and turbo petrol options.
In addition to the RGEP architecture, Renault also showcased the RGMP, or the Renault Global Modular Platform, at the FutuReady Event. This platform currently underpins the new generation Duster, and in the coming period, we will be seeing a number of new models based on this platform, including the Boreal (seven-seater version of the Duster) and the Bridger (concept has already been revealed).
The RGMP architecture will be a multi-energy platform, which means it will offer multiple powertrain options. These will include ICE, CNG, flex-fuel, hybrid, super hybrid and electric. Additionally, this platform will also be ready to offer 2WD and 4WD configurations as well. During the event, it was also confirmed that the Renault Bridger will be making its debut next year.