Renault Duster Hybrid India Launch On October 17

As promised at the time of its India debut, Renault is all set to launch the Hybrid version of the Duster in India on October 17. Called the E-Tech 160, the hybrid will become the third powertrain option in the Duster line-up, joining the existing 1.0-litre and 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engines.

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Speaking at the launch earlier this year, Francisco Hidalgo, Vice President of Renault India, said the hybrid powertrain has received a strong response, adding that the company is already sold out for this year and is working on increasing production capacity. According to Renault, most of the interest is coming from “urban markets”, with 39 per cent of bookings in metro markets going toward the hybrid variant.

The hybrid system pairs a 1.8-litre GDI petrol engine with a 1.4 kWh battery pack, producing a combined 158 bhp and 172 Nm of torque. It's paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission and gets two electric motors. Renault claims a combined range of 1,000 km for the Duster hybrid.

Renault states that in daily city use, the Duster hybrid can run in all-electric mode up to 80 per cent of the time, which the company says reduces fuel consumption by up to 40 per cent compared to a car running solely on an internal combustion engine.

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Except for EV mode, Renault's hybrid system switches between four other modes through its multimode gearbox (15 modes). In Dynamic Hybrid mode, the engine and electric motors drive the wheels together. In Electric Motion mode, the electric motor alone powers the wheels while the petrol engine charges the battery. There's also a standalone ICE mode, where the petrol engine drives the wheels on its own, and an Energy Recovery mode, where the electric motor regenerates charge during deceleration.

The strong hybrid setup is also expected to help offset the absence of a diesel engine option on the new Duster. Once launched, it will go up directly against strong-hybrid rivals in the compact SUV space, including the Maruti Grand Vitara, Victoris, and the Toyota UC Hyryder.