French carmaker Renault, in its unbridled enthusiasm ahead of the launch of the new SUV the Captur in India in October, seems to have driven right into storm. Ahead of the entry into the Indian market, Renault kick-started the new SUV's promotional campaign with videos and teasers on Youtube and social media platforms. But the use of a model not meant for domestic market in the campaign has not gone down well with auto lovers in the country.
Faced with the ire of the car lovers, the carmaker has pulled down the video from YouTube. The ad, which was meant to showcase the popularity and accolades of the upcoming Captur in the international market, has been widely criticised for using a model that is specific to global markets and has nothing to do with the domestic market. Notably, the Captur that is coming to India is different from the one shown in ill-fated ad. The advertorial ends with a line, 'Now in India'.
Many viewers on TeamBHP forum have criticised Renault for the misleading advertisement and questioned the ethics of the company. Renault Captur is a globally successful premium SUV sold in over 75 countries.
The Captur that is driving into India will not be the same Captur that is sold in Europe, although both share the same spellings and the pronunciation of their names. While the Europe-spec Captur is a model based on the Clio platform, the SUV coming to India is built on the same platform as Duster.
The Captur coming to India is also expected to share similar features and specs as Kaptur sold in Russia and Brazil. So the question that comes to mind: Why would Renault India be advertising a Euro-spec Captur for India? Perhaps they have a reason.
The advert has since disappeared from the YouTube page of Renault India but you can watch it here.
India-spec Captur
To be pitted against the new Jeep Compass and Hyundai Creta primarily, Renault Captur measures 4,329 mm in length, 1,813 mm in width and 1,619 mm in height. It offers a ground clearance of 210mm.
The Captur is a premium SUV of Renault designed as a crossover, and will be placed above the Duster in India. At the heart of the Captur will be the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel and 1.5-litre petrol engines of the Duster. While the petrol mill can generate 104bhp at 5600rpm and 142Nm of peak torque at 4000 rpm, the diesel engine churns out 108bhp at 4000rpm and peak torque of 240Nm at 1750rpm.
