Renault Duster Sales Drops, ex-Parnter M&M Scorpio Wins Again In August

The battle for pole position in the popular sports utility vehicle space is now tilting in favour of Mahindra and Mahindra’s Scorpio as it turns the heat on its rival Renault Duster. The old rugged warhorse Scorpio got the better of Renault’s fast-selling urban SUV Duster in monthly sales for the second consecutive month in August, even as Renault continued to hold on to its number one position for the year 2013 so far. M&M sold over 3,356 units in August of 2013 against 2,967 units of Duster. In July, Scorpio outsold Duster by over 150 units with sales of 3,256 units versus Duster’s 3,089 units. For the period January-July 2013, Renault’s Duster sales aggregated to 36,545 units against Scorpio’s 32,867 units. Pravin Shah, chief executive (automotive), Mahindra & Mahindra, said the brand Scorpio continues to remain strong. “Scorpio is not getting a levelplaying field. In spite of the increased duty and sluggish market environment, the brand continues to hold on to its own, thanks to its overall SUV character of styling, performance and reliability. Despite increasing direct or indirect competition, Scorpio is delivering respectable volumes. We will continue to build on our volumes through facelifts, refreshes and by adding more features in the future,” added Shah. Sumit Sawhney, ED (sales & marketing), Renault India refused to get drawn into the comparison. As he said: “It would be unfair to compare both these products as they cater to different segments and attract different target customers, it is like comparing apples to oranges. Despite the SUV/UV market crashing, Duster numbers have remained steady.”