Renault working on Maruti Alto 800, Hyundai Eon rival

Renault-Nissan alliance is currently working on a new 800cc 3-cylinder petrol engine, which will power their upcoming small cars. This engine is being developed by Renault-Nissan Technical Centre in Chennai. Platform that is expected to used for small cars will be the CMF-A, which too has been jointly developed by Renault-Nissan.

While Nissan's low cost car brand Datsun already has a small car in the form of Go hatchback, Renault is eyeing at an even smaller car for the Indian market to rival Alto 800 and Hyundai Eon. Later on Nissan too might launch a small car using the same engine, components and platform and position it below Datsun Go. That is the reason why Nissan positioned the Datsun Go against the likes of Hyundai i10 and WagonR, and not Alt0 800 and Eon.

Though both the small cars will share most parts and components, we expect huge design changes, as the alliance is no more interested in badge-engineering products. If reports are to be believed, Renault's small car might take its design inspiration from the Datsun Redi-Go, which was unveiled recently at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo.

The A-Entry will be the company's global product, which will first enter the Indian market by 2015, followed by other emerging markets like Brazil and South Africa. Other product that Renault is planning to bring to India is the Lodgy MPV to rival Ertiga and Enjoy.