Satisfied with the sales of premium sedan -Fluence, Renault expects to achieve its annual sales target by end of October, said Len Curran, Renault's vice-president for sales and marketing in India.

Curran speaks to Rupesh Subhash Janve on the company's product strategy in India on the sidelines of the launch of its premium SUV ­ Koleos. The SUV priced at Rs 24.10 lakh, exshowroom Mumbai, is the top-end variant and will have Bose music system in it. It is also called as Bose-edition, said Curran. Excerpts:

Renault has plans to launch five models by the end of 2012, out of which it has already launched two premium vehicles -Fluence sedan and Koleos SUV. What are the other models the company ex pects to be suitable for Indian market?

A hatchback car will be launched in the first quarter of next calendar year, which will be a mass market car for the Indian market, followed by the Duster in the second half of next year. Both these vehicles will be displayed at the Auto Expo in January 2012. We have got another car that will be launched by the end of next year.

Is the new car being developed in India?

Yes, the car is being developed on the new platform.

We might use the V-platform of Nissan for the development of the car. It is being developed at the design cen tre in Mumbai.

Is there any sales target, after company reach 100 dealership by end of December 2012 from around 14 at present?

Yes, we have set a target of selling around 100,000 vehicles by end of 2013 on the back of the mass market car and the all-new sedan. But initially our focus would be to expand our dealer network to 40 by end of 2011, 70 by June 2012 and 100 by December 2012. We have already sold around 700 cars in first two months after launch of Fluence in May. We expect to achieve the annual sales target by end of October after Koleos launch.

In the recent past, both the partners Renault and Nissan launched their vehicles ahead of schedule. Any strategy behind it?

The Koleos was to be launched in October. But we launched it in September because we were ready with the preparations. It really is not a strategy. It is an opportunity and if you can do well sooner you bring your car to the market and it is going to sell.

Why did you plan to launch the Bose-edition of Koleos and not the lower version that could have given high volumes?

There's no manufacturer who wouldn't like to get volumes. And of course there are targets to meet. But the priority of first two cars is to build image and customer satisfaction, then volumes.

Volumes are important, you need to sell cars. But the volume will come only if you get your image and customer satisfaction. And it is important to build image of Renault before we start to make volume cars next year.