Fleet owners and taxi service providers offer a burgeoning customer base for carmakers to exploit, and MPVs are quite a popular pick in that segment. Taking cue, Renault is understood to be prepping its Lodgy for the taxi market.
Back in April this year, the French carmaker launched the Lodgy with an optional seven-seat configuration only on the top RxZ trim of the 110PS version. Currently, the more affordable trims are available only in an eight-seat configuration, and this does not allow the MPV to enjoy certain tax benefits available to seven-seater taxis in some states.
Renault is readying a seven-seat variant of the lower 85PS version of the MPV, specifically targeted at the fleet and taxi operating segment. It’ll get two captain seats instead of a bench in the middle.
The Lodgy in the 85PS avatar gets a 1.5-litre diesel engine in a lower 83.8bhp state of tune. It comes mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. This model is priced in the range of Rs 8.29 - 10.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), subject to trims. At a lower price point for the taxi segment, Renault might actually be able to offer fleet owners one of the most affordable MPVs.
Suraj Kannan